2nd Fallout Shelter Enlargement

This is an enlargement of the couple I mentioned in my previous post, posing with my original model inside the fallout shelter at Hack Green.

There is a definite felling of unease with this image. I particularly like the way in which the woman is hanging her head and clasping her hands as well as the expression on the man's face. Leann's fidgeting with the Geiger counter also seems to portray some sort of hope or her motivation for survival.

Scanned Fuji Pro 400 H F4: 13 Seconds

4th Contact Sheet:

During this visit to Hack Green we were joined by a couple who were Australian tourists from Tasmania who were visiting Cheshire on a cycling holiday. They very kindly agreed to pose in a couple of photographs along side my original model, Leann.

All models were given direction, trying to create a tense and sombre mood.

I thought that the age difference between the tourists and Leann might create an interesting new dynamic in the pictures.

Shots inside the fallout shelter were taken using a Hasselblad 500 cm at F4 with a shutter speed of 13 seconds on 400 speed film.

Living without sunlight

It is safe to say that the long term effects of excessive exposure to solar radiation (UVB) can be harmful to a person, causing the possibility of many health complications including melanoma and other skin cancers. Though this solar radiation is the primary source of vitamin D for most Americans and Europeans.

The health benefits of sunlight have been explored for many years, resulting in the conclusion that moderate exposure to sunlight is an intrinsic component for healthy life.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is just one of the health implications brought about by reduced exposure to sunlight. Throughout the winter months many suffers encounter these symptoms:

Most sufferers show signs of a weakened immune system during the winter,
and are more vulnerable to infections and other illnesses.

SAD symptoms disappear in spring, either suddenly with a short period (e.g. four weeks) of hypomania or hyperactivity, or gradually, depending on the intensity
of sunlight in the spring and early summer.

In sub-syndromal SAD, symptoms such as tiredness, lethargy, sleep and eating problems occur, but depression and anxiety are absent or mild.

SAD may begin at any age but the main age of onset is between 18 and 30 years.
SAD occurs throughout the northern and southern hemispheres but is extremely rare in those living within 30 degrees of the Equator, where daylight hours are long, constant and extremely bright.

http://www.sada.org.uk/symptoms-of-SAD.html

This evidence raises the question 'How would living underground for a prolonged period effect our mental and physical health?'

I hope to be able to incorporate this research into my photographs using a model.

Enlargement: Attack Warning

Scanned Fuji Pro 400 H, F16: 1/60th second

This image has been inspired by the Protect and Survive handbook, issued by the Home Office and Civil Defence in 1980. I tried to capture the sense of urgency a person would feel upon hearing an attack siren.

After scanning the negative, I used multiple layers in Photoshop to highlight the running figure. Creating a copy of the background layer, I then altered the levels of original layer to bring out the highlights of the white dust suit the model is wearing. I then used a soft eraser to carefully delete that area of the new layer, clearly exposing the altered levels of the running figure.

Here is a copy of the Protect and Survive page that inspired this image:

Contact sheets - 3rd visit to Hack Green

I have tried to create a narrative by photographing a model outside of the facility. I am not as happy as I could be with these shots and wonder if the reason is due to removing the model from the bunker and placing her in the outside world.

These images lack the attributes that I have previously mentioned, they don't communicate any of the moods or feelings that I had hoped to capture. Though, having said that, I am interested to see some of these images enlarged. The frames on the far right of this contact sheet look to be more interesting that others, they have captured a sense of urgency. I can imagine looking at these images and hearing an attack warning signal.

The Red Telephone

This is an enlargement from my second visit to the facility at Hack Green, this room housed a warning system, alerting the Regional Commissioner of an imminent strike. The alarm would then be raised to warn the military and civil authorities across the country.

The red telephones on the Warning Officer's desk brought to mind a verse from a song by 60s American psychedelic/folk rock band Love, entitled The Red Telephone from their 1967 album Forever Changes:

Sitting on a hillside
Watching all the people die
I'll feel much better on the other side
I'll thumb a ride

Scanned Fuji Pro 400 H, F22: 28 seconds

Fallout Shelter Enlargements

Here are a couple of examples of the images taken from inside the fallout shelter at Hack Green nuclear bunker. Using a model I have attempted to create original work concerning post-apocalyptic survival. I feel that these images are the most successful from this particular shoot.

I directed the model, asking her to handle the Geiger counters. I wanted the images to have all the elements that I have previously expressed interest in, such as cinematic qualities and an emphasis on confinement and claustrophobia. I was conscious that over exaggerated emotion and expressions could undermine the content of these images. For these reasons I have made compositional choices such obscuring facial expression, the use of body language and close angles from over the model's shoulder to avoid creating a 'pantomime' interpretation of fear and distress.

Scanned Fuji Pro 400 H, F4: 13 Seconds