This document provides an overview of Lily-Elle Bragg's research diary for a project on queer photography and community. It outlines Bragg's goals for the project, which include documenting personal and community style centered around queerness through a published collection of photographs and articles. It also provides details on Bragg's initial research plans, including the history of portraiture and photojournalism, technical camera information, and examining queer communities and independent music venues. The document discusses themes from Bragg's previous work that will continue in this project, such as expressing queerness and examining urban culture. It also includes examples of Bragg's past work and initial research on analogue photography, consent, and autoethnography as a methodology.

1. QUEER
PHOTOGRAPHY
&
COMMUNITY
LILY-ELLE BRAGG

2. 601 RESEARCH DIARY
LI LY-E LLE B R AG G
creating a basis for practising analogue fashion
photography, photojournalism, and cultural
commentary
QUEER
PHOTOGRAPHY
&
COMMUNITY

3. C O N T E N T S
C O N T E N T S

4. THE STARTING POINT
THE STARTING POINT

5. 8 9
Initial Project Goal: present a series of photographs and articles through a published
physical medium that charts personal and community style centered on queerness,
androgyny, urban and music cultures, and independent venue spaces.
Ideas for Supporting Research:
• history of portraiture and photojournalism including ethical conduct within
journalism
• technical info on analogue cameras
• the intersection of queerness, music, and community venues as well as
contemporary queer rights and representation
• outline of different urban venue scenes with statistics on nightlife and music
engagement
• key players in journalism, especially at the crossover of music and fashion
• visual research on analogue photography in fashion
• sustaining urban venues/businesses through community support and cooperatives.
Primary Goal: Develop a relationship with subjects through conversation and help
centre their experiences and communities. Experiment with displaying this information
visually and through written interviews.
Technical Goal: Learn to develop film - try out on various formats and ISOs used
throughout this project.
Experimental Goal: Use a variety of different cameras and films to develop skills at
shooting in lower light levels.
Initial Steps:
• query technicians about film developing
• book out/buy a selection of cameras and accompanying film
• attend first Bristol event on Thursday 28th September
• keep building bank of research of imagery and articles
PROJECT OVERVIEW
G OA L S & I D E A S
Initial Plan Timeline:
• 18th to 26th September - camera and event research period
• 27th to 28th September - photography in Bristol
• 29th September to 15th October - film developing experiments
• 16th to 25th October - camera research period
• 26th to 28th October - photography in Bristol
• November - film developing and layout experiments
• End of November - photography in Manchester
• December - film developing, editing, and layout
• End of December - more Bristol photography if needed
• January - editing and final layout
Subjects to Photograph:
• event organisers and curators, including interviews and discussion around the
importance of their work and their individual motivations
• artists/musicians and their aesthetics, including interviews about their work and
the communities they are a part of
• individuals attending events at indepedent venues, charting their style and visual
culture
PROJECT OVERVIEW
T I M E LI N E

6. 10 11
401:
+ basics of studio photography
+ strong research and moodboards
+ creative use of lighting
+ personal style and skill for creative direction shown
- more in depth technical knowledge of cameras and lenses needed
- refer to all exciting ideas in moodboards, expand the variety of imagery created
402:
+ introduction to InDesign
+ strong conceptual and ethical elements
+ cultural suggestions to entice customers
- details of execution and problem solving need to be outlined
- no physical packaging developed, demonstration of skills to be learned there
- more specific info on market and relevant sectors
403:
+ very strong retouching and colour grading skills
+ interesting video concept explored
+ strong moodboards and research of queer theme and colour palette
+ collage and text exploration is successful
+ successful mix of interviews and architecture that aided the discussion
- more varied final poses, compositions, close-ups - refer back to moodboards
- vary styling and outfits more
- use LED lights for interviews and improve sound quality
- increase awareness of and writing on audience
404:
+ indepently setting up studio equipment and working with an unfamiliar model
+ strong theme of social justice
+ application of fine art knowledge
+ leadership role and strong ideas in second part of the module
- very low attendance, increase contact with tutors
- did not push skills in new direction
- low investment in first half of module and outcome
- explore written skills further in future modules
501:
+ enthusiasm for filmmaking and early digital medium is obvious and a successful stylistic
choice
+ development of PremierePro skills
+ models fit 90s aesthetic of moodboards
- make sure the link between all aspects of the module is clear, the video did not fully
PREVIOUS WORK
R E V I E W O F PA S T M O D U LE S
relate to the asian consumer base researched
- anaylse Gen Z engagement with Calvin Klein Brand
- develop health and safety plan further
- build time into plan for technical issues
502:
+ strong contextual and social research
+ demonstrated strong understanding of both brands’ cultures
+ “Your presentation was confident and our brand reps were impressed by your research
into youth culture in smaller cities in the UK, and said that your event idea would be likely
to be something the brands would be involved in.”
+ aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand report, InDesign skills much developed
- mistakes made in references
- initial research could be more strongly linked to outcome
- lacking discussion of ethics for the proposal that was an important part of this module
- personal evaluation could have been more in depth
- be more experimental with document visuals and more aligned to the brands’ visuals
503:
+ video concept of combined video and animation is interesting
+ good research on music venues and statistics
+ pitch addressed potential obstacles
- explore chosen consumers relationship with co-working spaces
- more in depth research on Market Hall needed and explanation for why specifically
propsing to Market Hall not other venues
- Report was too long
- detailed case studies but for a short document should have been more focus on Market
Hall, customers, SWOT analysis and KPIs
- leaflet design could be more intriguing.
- lots of information missed from lectures that was needed to understand the final brief.
- low personal interest/motivation in the marketing side of the module
504:
+ cultural/trend-based focus (vintage, independent business)
+ research driven - Paris Fashion Week
+ shooting with/learning from a graduate student (continuous lighting)
+ organising multiple models and complicated shoots with lots of outfits
+ planned out efficiently from start of module
- experimenting wtih plain commercial style resulted in less personal stylistic identity,
somewhat flat images
- good resources/magazines researched but could be analysed in more depth
- explore fashion journalism not just photography
PREVIOUS WORK
R E V I E W O F PA S T M O D U LE S

7. 12 13
Two of the main themes that have emerged in my work throughout this course so far
are expressing queerness through photography and styling, and examining urban culture
and communities. In this next project - and for my portfolio and professional work going
forward - I think these two things will be at the core of many of my projects. I also have a
long history of existing in music venues and small scale music or arts events; this element
also feels essential to this project in particular and its celebration of community through
physical artistic spaces.
See below previous work of mine highlighting queer expression in studio - particularly
through the styling I have done in the images. Also see the use of colour and composition,
and the threads that I might be taking through this next body of work. I feel there are
references to Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic imagery in the almost painterly look to the
portraiture and in the posing.
On the opposite page, see purple photo collages I have made using found images
that discuss queerness and artistic communities through queer symbols and early modern
cabaret photography. My final product will primarily be a printed artefact, and I want to
push the boundaries of what a photography book can be. I will do this through collage,
graphic design research, analysing original punk fanzine influences, and utilisiing
traditional physical art mediums - similar in many ways to the work on the following page.
The goal is for an eclectic visual journey that represents the diversity and excitement of the
communities I am documenting.
PREVIOUS WORK
T H E M E S TO C O N T I N U E
I have also included examples of self-portrait photo collages on the page opposite
that I have made in the past, displaying how an autobiography can be created through
photo collage as well. My research around methodology further into this collection focuses
particularly on autoethnography - a key tenet of which is autobiography, and making
creative and emotive works as a method of communication. I have done a lot of photography
and traditional art around self-portraiture and there are definite lessons from that that I
can use in this project, like examing the role of self in art, and addressing the relationship
between audience and artist (also relevant to autoethnography and my process throughout
this project).
Turn to the next spread to see examples of film photography I have done around
scenery, especially highlighting city scapes. The main takeaways for me are the colour
palettes, the effect of black and white imagery, and being thoughtful about composition.
I also love the narrative element that comes through in analogue photography, and the
intimacy, which is something I will explore further in this project.
PREVIOUS WORK
I N S PI R AT I O N S O FA R

8. 14 15

10. INITIAL RESEARCH
INITIAL RESEARCH

11. 20 21
In researching analogue fashion photography, one of the first names that came up was
Terry Richardson. Many camera blogs and articles were eshewing his many virtues, and
how he single handedly put the point-and-shoot film camera, the Yashica T4, on the map
(contriubuting to its inflated resale prices to this day).
I, however, hate nearly every image of his that I’ve seen. To me, there is an obvious
misogyny and inherent discomfort in his images. I was aware of this feeling even before
I read the many articles since 2018 revealing how he abused and took advantage of his
models.
You can see consistently in his portrayal of women that the only visual interest he can
create is through their sexuality. His classic white wall photo series, rather than evoking
simplicity, refinement, and clarity, displays technically bad photography that entirely
relies on exploting the women in front of the camera. Many of his photos have awkward
shadows that come across as unintentional and clumsy, and the composition rarely differs
across the hundreds of photos he must have taken in this style.
I have included a couple examples of men in his photos here as well, to show the
obvious contrast in their portrayals. They are fully clothed, and shot proportionally with
fairly normal composition, rather than placing sexualised body parts centrally in the photo.
The image of Christian Bale on the left here actually has some narrative or emotion behind
it, which I cannot say for any of the photos of women I have displayed here.
In my creation of images, exploring communities, expression and queer visuals, I hope
that there is none of this discomfort, and instead confidence and celebration. Intimacy
without being voyeuristic. I aim to do this by building relationships and trust with the
models and communities that I will be exploring, and by working in circles that I am
already a part of – I am one of them, exploring my own culture as much as one separate
from myself.
A quote from Diana Agron, one of the subjects on the left, states that she was horrified
to discover ‘a rack full of bikinis’ at the shoot. She has been quoted saying, “We had a
photo shoot with GQ, and it was with Terry Richardson, and there were no other clothes,
our reps were not there, and we were just told, ‘This is what you have to do for your show,’.”
“I remember feeling strange after about the whole thing...I didn’t ever really
feel comfortable dolling up or expressing my sexuality in that way
because I didn’t even fully understand how I felt about my own sexuality.”
The obvious exploitation is not the only issue; as I stated above the visual interest
and technicality simply isn’t there to justify this man’s once all-encompassing popularity
in the industry. I am not the only person to express this view, with one photography blog
commenting after a shoot was published with him and Lana Del Rey:
“How to be Terry Richardson: Stand in front of a white wall. Take a fucking photo.”
TERRY RICHARDSON
H O W N OT TO R E S PE C T YO U R M O D E L S
https://www.gq.com/gallery/glee-photos-rachel-quinn-finn [accessed on 10/10/2023 14:22]
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12057159/Dianna-Agron-looks-strange-exploitative-GQ-cover-shot-Terry-
Richardson-Glee-days.html [accessed on 10/10/2023 14:23]
https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/best-of-terry-richardson [accessed on 10/10/2023 14:25]
https://www.pedestrian.tv/music/lana-del-rey-does-inevitable-terry-richardson-shoot/ [accessed on 10/10/2023 14:29]

12. 22 23
Alreadydeepinmyresearcharoundjournalisticethics,Iwatchedthe2013film Tracks,
directed by John Curran. It was an interesting dynamic, seeing an emotional narrative
portrayal of what can happen when you are not careful about your own ethical stance as a
journalist. During my watching of this film, I felt that it succeeded in acutely presenting
the emotional and mental trauma that irresponsible and inconsiderate photojournalism
can cause its subjects. It also criticised the invasive nature of unconsensual photography,
showing the anger of the aboroginal group after one character secretly photographed a
private and sacred event.
The issue of consent comes up time and time again in photo and video; looking back
at Terry Richardson, perhaps one of his most famous moments online was when he posted
a video of a 19-year-old Kate Upton dancing in a revealing bikini without her consent. She
has revealed in interviews since that she confronted him afterwards about having been
given no warning that the video would be published. It also remains up on his YouTube
channel to this day, with over 28 million views - a horrifying number for a video she did
not consent to sharing publicly.
CONSENT IN PHOTOGRAPHY
T R AC K S (2 0 1 3) , J O H N C U R R A N & M O R E
Tracks (2013), John Curran
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/kate-upton-terry-richardson-cat-daddy_n_7024316 [accessed on 10/10/2023 16:36]
Even though she appears to have forgiven
Richardson, stating that the situation is fine now,
it enforces the sense of exploitation evident in his
work. Similarly, Dianna Agron described Terry
Richardson as “kind, not creepy” after the Glee
shoot, but her other comments speak to a deep
discomfort and lack of willing consent to take part
in the shoot. Someone in a position like Richardson,
despite making serveral people uncomfortable and
violating their consent, managed to avoid criticism
or retribution for decades because of his power and
reputation in industry - people simply brushed the
encounters off. As a photographer, it may be you
are in situations where other people simply will not
or cannot hold you accountable, so it is your duty to
evaluate your own ethics and actions as you work.
I was hesistant to include these images
because of the issues of consent, but I feel the
discomforting visual impact of them is neccessary to
understand why these issues are worth discussing.
The “Directed by Terry Richardson” end card
personally angers me further; it’s as if he considers
there to be artistic merit to what is essentially a
badly framed and badly lit video of a 19 year old’s
breasts.
“Thus, as a method, autoethnography is both process and product.”
“theyrecognizedtheimpossibilityofandlackofdesireformaster,universalnarratives”
“Furthermore, there was an increasing need to resist colonialist, sterile research
impulses of authoritatively entering a culture, exploiting cultural members, and then
recklessly leaving to write about the culture for monetary and/or professional gain, while
disregarding relational ties to cultural members”
“Gradually, scholars across a wide spectrum of disciplines began to consider what
social sciences would become if they were closer to literature than to physics, if they
proffered stories rather than theories, and if they were self-consciously value-centered
rather than pretending to be value free”
“they wanted to concentrate on ways of producing meaningful, accessible, and
evocative research grounded in personal experience, research that would sensitize
readers to issues of identity politics, to experiences shrouded in silence, and to forms of
representation that deepen our capacity to empathize with people who are different from
us (ELLIS & BOCHNER, 2000).”
“Autoethnographers recognize the innumerable ways personal experience influences
the research process”
“Even though some researchers still assume that research can be done from a neutral,
impersonal, and objective stance (ATKINSON, 1997; BUZARD, 2003; DELAMONT,
2009), most now recognize that such an assumption is not tenable (BOCHNER, 2002;
DENZIN & LINCOLN, 2000; RORTY, 1982). Consequently, autoethnography is one of
the approaches that acknowledges and accommodates subjectivity, emotionality, and the
researcher’s influence on research, rather than hiding from these matters or assuming they
don’t exist.”
“For the most part, those who advocate and insist on canonical forms of doing
and writing research are advocating a White, masculine, heterosexual, middle/upper-
classed, Christian, able-bodied perspective. Following these conventions, a researcher not
only disregards other ways of knowing but also implies that other ways necessarily are
unsatisfactory and invalid. Autoethnography, on the other hand, expands and opens up a
wider lens on the world, eschewing rigid definitions of what constitutes meaningful and
useful research; this approach also helps us understand how the kinds of people we claim,
or are perceived, to be influence interpretations of what we study, how we study it, and
what we say about our topic (ADAMS, 2005; WOOD, 2009).”
METHODOLOGY
AU TO E T H N O G R A PH I C M E T H O D O LO GY
References references references.
References go here.
Third Line in Case needed!!

13. 24 25
In the early stages of this project, a group of Hamas militants from Palestine attacked
an outside rave two miles from the border of Gaza. Many Israeli civillians were kidnapped,
and it has been reported that at least 250 were killed.
I am not denying the horrific nature of the event - however, the ensuing commentary
online, especially from journalists and respected news outlets, has illuminated the sheer
level of bias exhibited gloabally against Palestine and in support of Israel.
As a first, almost ridiculous, example, here is a tweet from the verified BBC World
account on X (formerly Twitter), from 09/10/2023:
In the same post, the Palestinian civillians have “died” from Israeli attacks, a passive
statement, and Israeli civillians have “been killed” by Hamas, an active statement. It’s
a simple difference, but it shows a blatant bias that is consistent throughout so much
reporting on Israel and Palestine.
As someone who intends to investigate, report on, and portray maginalised or
oppressed groups (primarily the queer community), this type of bias demonstrated by
established news outlets genuinely angers me. In any type of journalism - political, cultural,
or otherwise - there is a duty of self-awareness and self-examination to avoid this type of
injustice.
In this project, I had already commenced research into ethical considerations in
journalism and photo-journalism, but these recent events have served to compound the
neccessity of this research. I hope to be able to critically reexamine all my work, and will
build time into my plan for this task.
A researcher and psychotherapist said, when I was discussing these issues with them,
“If you address your biases as they show themselves in your process, that’s the best you
can do.” So that is my goal in this project; we all have biases and preconceptions, and
the methodology of autoethnography allows for this but challenges you to become self-
aware and self-critical, to re-examine your own process and thoughts at every stage of your
research.
ADDRESSING BIAS
C U R R E N T E V E N T S & R E P O R T I N G
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/08/paraglidier-hamas-terror-gunmen-israel-rave-festival-gaza/ [accessed
10/10/2023 13:35]
https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1711340677571674567 [accessed 10/10/2023 13:38]

14. 26 27
One of the key questions throughout this project is: why does this work matter and
why does what I’m saying have relevance outside of myself and my portfolio?
There are many different ways to answer this, but I think the following quotes from
Vol. 4 of Get Familiar Magazine, in an interview with music reporter Kelefa Sanneh,
provide some insight into my motivations. Though they are more focused on music than
fashion, I think they speak to the wider cultural significance an artform can have outside
it’s medium, and speak to the importance of writing about and dicussing an artwork’s
impact.
“... the thing about music is that there’s always too much
of it to pay attention to. So, whatever the consensus
is about what’s interesting, there’s always something
going on off-screen - outside the field of what’s being
celebrated. So, one of the things that someone who writes
about music can do, is to point out those things.”
“The thing about hip-hop is that it turned out that its
cultural identity is possibly stronger than its musical
identity.”
“... the fact that hip-hop not only still exists, but is both
still good as well as a way for people to be heard - who
would otherwise never be heard - is a minor miracle.”
“My hope is that, even if you’re someone that’s never
going to listen to death metal, for example, that it’s
somehow enriching to think about what the world looks
like through the eyes and ears of a death metal fan.”
“When you really think about it and zoom out: what
are the underlying assumptions? It’s one thing to say
that pop music can be just as innovative and cool as
rock music, but, if you take a step back from that, then
you also must ask: why are coolness and innovation the
standards of measurement? Why are those the things
we’re looking for?”
“... music’s always going to be both this social and anti-
social force.”
- Kelefa Sanneh
WHY THIS PROJECT?
R E LE VA N C E A N D S I G N I F I C A N C E
Get Familiar Magazine Vol. 4, Interview with Kelefa Sanneh
“The last bastion of hope
This once great nation had left was good music
But we didn’t nurture it, instead choosing to ignore it
Yes, we’ve been trapped by the same crowd that don’t like it
Unless they’ve heard it before
Leaving me stuck flogging my progressive dead horse
South of the border”
“Yeah, the last bastion of hope this once great nation has left is to converse
In a manner that will pacify, divide, and unite the room
But no one’s talking and rational thought has been forced into submission
By the medium through which all our information is now consumed
Yes, fake news”
There is a sense of belonging and comraderie that comes from listening to a band like
Yard Act - the political messages mixed with evocative (and often pessimistic) descriptions
continue a long English tradition that includes the likes of Pulp and Arctic Monkeys.
Perhaps particularly a Northern style, it has long held a universal popularity and prevalence
in English culture and indie rock. Despite the pessimism and depressing nature of many of
the songs, they manage to foster a sense of community that most of us outside of the ruling
class - even the middle class and comfortable amoung us - face the same difficulties and
powerlessness. Yard Act’s debut album discusses bombings perpetrated in other countires
by our Government in our name, the ennui of modern life, the overload of information and
fake news we consume everyday - and much much more that can be related to by so many
in this country currently.
I am inspired and touched by their precise descriptions and the emotive conversations
they create - based on experience and testimony, charting the experience of so many as
well as themselves. An act of autobiography and even autoethonography, their lyrics sound
like reflective pieces of spoken word that span between their personal niche experiences
as a musician in a band to the collective political challenges and the effects they have
on an individual’s everyday life. It’s activist art, it’s political education, it’s therapy and
expression - and to everyone that listens to it it’s probably something else deeply affecting
as well.
“He bloomed and he grew and grew, and still he was doomed
Same as me, same as you
Same as everyone I ever knew”
“We cry because children are dying across the sea
And there is nothing we can do about it
Whilst we benefit from the bombs dropped which we had no part in building
We are sorry, truly we are sorry
We are just trying to get by too”
YARD ACT
LYR I C S : D E A D H O R S E & TA L L P O P P I E S
https://genius.com/Yard-act-dead-horse-lyrics
https://genius.com/Yard-act-tall-poppies-lyrics

15. 28 29
VISUAL RESEARCH
VISUAL RESEARCH

16. 30 31
BLACK AND WHITE
H E LM U T N E W TO N
https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2007/photographs-l07430/lot.172.html
https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/helmut-newton-vogue
https://www.artlife.com/artists/helmut-newton
https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/objects [accessed on 26/11/2023 23:50]

17. 32 33

18. 34 35

19. 36 37
BLACK AND WHITE
I N C I N E M A
La Haine (1995), Mathieu Kassovitz via The Guardian
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Elia Kazan

20. 38 39

21. 40 41
“The balls are a celebration of black and Latino urban gay life. They were born in Harlem
out of a need for black and Latino gays to have a safe space to express themselves. Balls are
constructed like beauty and talent pageants. The participants work to redefine and critique
gender and sexual identity through an extravagant fashion masquerade. Women and men
become fluid, interchangeable points of departure and reference, disrupting the notion
of a fixed and rigid gender and sexual self. My images try to show a more personal and
intimate beauty, pride, dignity, courage, and grace that have been painfully challenged by
mainstream society. All of this happens at night in small halls in cities all over the country.
These photographs, taken in New York, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Washington, D.C.,
show us different views of these spaces as they are reflected in the eyes of house and ball
members who perform what they wish these cities could be.”
- Gerard H. Gaskin
LEGENDARY
PH OTO G R A PH Y B O O K , G E R A R D H. G A S K I N

22. 42 43

23. 44 45

24. 46 47

25. 48 49

26. PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT
PRACTICAL DEVELOPMENT

27. 52 53
INITIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
S TA R T I N G P O I N T: S E P & O C T

28. 54 55
One of my initial experiments for this module was attending an event called Queer
Folk Lore on the 28th September at The Llandoger Trow in Bristol. I was in contact with
the founder of the Queer Folk Lore events and went to do photography and videography to
document the evening.
Firstly, I think it is unlikely I will be using any of the content I took at the event in
my final outcome for this project - a lot was unfamiliar to me, the lighting was not what
I expected, and I didn’t have much time to prepare and get in contact with the various
performers before hand. However, being at the event, looking through my various lenses, I
feel I learned so much about how to prepare for events in the future.
Lighting was definitely one of my biggest issues - because of the intimate nature of
the events, I did not feel at all comfortable using flash during the event. If I attend more
of these small scale events, I will definitely need some compact continous lighting to aid
my shoots.
For my main focus, I would rather not be just taking photos of performers and audience
members during the performance - I think getting in touch and arranging interviews/sit
down sessions before the event will be absolutely key to getting the type of content I want. I
also need to be more confident and assertive in asking people questions, which I will work
on, but even if I am this way the bustle of sound checks and preparations would get in
the way of sit down interviews. Preparing these beforehand, putting time aside, or maybe
meeting with artists and people after events and in between events would be a better use
of my time.
Overall, it was a lovely experience - I have good contacts now and some credibility/
reliability taking photos and videos at these events. I also have access to audio and
video from some of the introductions, lyrics and discussions from the stage, so will be
experimenting putting these together and seeing what type of documentary-esque short
videos I might be able to make.
Documentaries are definitely a passion of mine, and this event hammered home even
more that I should be including elements of video in my outcomes either this module or
the next.
INITIAL REVIEW
T E S T E V E N T: Q U E E R F O LK-LO R E
Images taken by Lily-Elle Bragg, 28th September 2023 in Bristol, UK
Considering I had never conducted an interview like this at all, I am very happy with
the results I got from this process. From reaching out on Instagram and explaining my
ideas, to the conversations and photography I got on the day, to the immediate creative
response I had internally after the meeting, it went better than I was hoping it could.
• I was of course nervous, but in the end I don’t think that affected the
outcome too much and I managed to work through it effectively.
• I had a series of open-ended and more closed questions prepared, and
these helped me guide the conversation when it needed an extra push -
outside of this, however, I tried to let my subject steer into their areas of
interest and their priorities.
• I am very happy with one of the portraits I took; it is on a simple point
and shoot camera but I love the composition and I think it effectively
communicates the atmosphere as I experienced it.
• Coming away from the interview, I sat day for half an hour immediately
after and wrote my own view on what happened - I was shocked by how
much I had to say and how much I was excited to communicate from the
experience. I felt far more confident than I had going in that this was a
worthwhile form of documentation and that I could interview people in a
way that could give others something engaging to read about.
• Going forward, I need a better audio recorder for the transcript of the
interview - moving between Bristol and Plymouth for this project has
made keeping track of equipment more difficult and unfortunately I did
not have the audio equipment I had hoped to have.
• One of the main things I think will be my own comfort and confidence - as
I said, it went far better than I thought it would, but I still have definite
areas for development throughout the whole process. Messaging people,
communicating my aims and goals clearly, and feeling prepared and in
control as much as possible in these situations: all these areas need work
and I’m excited to keep improving.
REVIEW OF FIRST INTERVIEW
H O W I T W E N T

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Through my initial research and first few events I attended, it became clear to me
that I wanted to parallel digital media for the zine to include video work. For the final
hand-in, I am imagining this taking place as a webpage and an instagram account.
Film has always been included in my practice in some way, and documentaries and
film have continued to be a big influence on me in this project both thematically and
visually. I also think, on the practical side of making a zine, establishing the start of a
social media presence completely coincides with the conceptual aim I started out with.
The aspect of film that speaks to me most is the sensory immersion they can create
through the combination of moving image and audio; espcially working in crowds, music
venues, and social gatherings, I think video is necessary to accompany some of the articles
or photographs. My aim is to make a short series of videos in the format of Instagram Reels,
immersing viewers in the events and joy and community that I have experienced in this
project.
Because of this intention, I will be furthering my knowledge of nostalgia inducing
filming techniques, like using analogue or early digital cameras, and similar editing
techniques as I feel they add to the emotional and narrative impact of a film. Visually,
it is in some ways an “on trend” aesthetic which may boost the reach and therefore the
accessibility of this zine. However, I also think it has a lot of creative value as a technique
for immersing and evoking connection or a sense of romance in the viewer.
There is perhaps a danger of romanticising these communities through this strategy
and style; I hope in being aware of this I can minimise it through the creation process. I
do think, though, that a sense of optimism and joy (a word that has come up a lot already
in this document) is essential to the meaning in my work. Queer communities have, for
so long, faced horribly trauma and oppression - part of the process of documenting these
communities and individuals is the hope that we can collectively celebrate, share, and
encourage thriving these spaces.
In the context of queer history, celebration and joy is an act of strength and rebellion.
For these reasons it is essential to this body of work.
VIDEO INTENTIONS
I N T R O D U C I N G A PA R A LLE L G OA L
Below are examples of my previous video work - visually these serve as the springboard
for this part of the project. I will refrain from analysing them here as they are pieces of
work that I am very proud of and think are capable of standing on their own and speaking
for themselves.
PREVIOUS VIDEO WORK
V I SUA L S PR I N G -B OA R D

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As a lot of the initial inspiration for this project came from ideas around marrying
long-form written work and photographic work, I feel it is important that the layout of my
research poster reflects that.
My current plan is, using inspiration of folding techniques found online, to create a
sort of booklet that on first viewing can be seen as a collection of photographic inspiration
and collages with found images to create eclectic moodboards. However, if you open it up,
there is a progression of text centrally that charts the written and conceptual development
of my work.
POSTER LAYOUT
E X PE R I M E N T S A N D PL A N N I N G
• write up annotations on methodology research and extracted quotes
• keep adding visual research as it arises
• provide past video works as stylistic content
• keep reaching out to people for interviews and testimonial content for my zine
• Start formatting zine and show development of this
• Format research poster and insert content into layout
• Take more photos, videos, and do more interviews
• Edit trial Reel
• Make Instagram account for zine content and promotion.
NEXT TASKS
M OV I N G F O R WA R D

31. LILY-ELLEBRAGG
RESEARCHDIARY601