The Automobile Society-Proposal

“One has to go back a while to recall a time when cars were simply means of transportation. In those days, they were just considered automobiles. Today, cars are extensions of their owners. They make statements about the character and status of their owners,” published Ebony Magazine in an article named ‘Celebrities and Their Favorite Cars’ in November 1987.

Whether manufactured in Germany, Britain or even Japan, each car is characterised with unique specifications. The luxurious German cars, the reliable Japanese cars and the strong built British cars, are all qualifications that distinguish not only the automobile, however, the owner of the vehicle as well, in our present day.

I propose exhibiting the unique specifications of different brand cars through the use of photography. By using German (Porsche), Japanese (Mitsubishi) and British (Range Rover) cars to photograph both exterior and interior components, this would entitle me to verify the differences between the brands and their owners.

There are several reasons behind choosing cars as the main subject of the project. Initially, I have always been a fan of cars, this is partially due to the fact that I was born and raised in a country where cars are a symbolic tool, which define their owner. This of course causes a spark in society, which leads people to buy luxury cars in order to sustain a level of visible wealth to others. A second reason would partially be because cars are a vital piece of technology that have transformed our present form of transportation to be of ease and efficiency. Therefore, I find it important to reflect upon all mechanisms of a car through the use of photographs, to show how significant they are to our modern society.

The target area that my photographs will be taken at is my uncle’s house in Castleknock, Dublin 15. As mentioned previously, only three cars will be used for the photo-shoot, each from a different country manufacturer. This project will commence at the beginning of November and will last for approximately five months, hence till the beginning of April. Our teacher, Dragana Jurisic, initially allocated the five months time frame to us. The advantage of having five months to work on the photo-shoot is the fact that winter and spring will be two seasons witnessed during the time frame; therefore the variety of natural color/light that could be used while photographing is instantly increased.

In order to complete my end project, certain methods and gadgets will need to be obtained and carried out throughout the photo-shoot. At first, I will be using the same smartphone camera for each photograph; that is an HTC One 4 Ultra Pixel camera, along with a 12X Zoom Lens. The photo-shoot will take place under different weather conditions such as, daylight, nighttime, rain and clouds etc. This will give a sense of diversity in the photographs color and tone. I intend to keep a constant rhythm within my photographs, where each one is a close up of the object being captured. This will give a depth of detail to each component.  Once all photographs are taken, postproduction software’s will be used to edit the photographs, such as Snapseed and Photoshop.

As mentioned previously, I will aim at showing the distinctions between the three different cars by taking a range of exterior and interior photographs, such as the steering wheel, dashboard, gages, wheels and exhaust pipes etc. This project will definitely influence me into adapting new methods of capturing a photograph. To conclude, the outcome of the project is to demonstrate that no social separation should be regarded due to a type of vehicle, as at the end of the day, a cars core purpose is to deliver from point A to point B.

Citation(s):

• ·       "Ebony." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2013.