Photojournalism - Class Work

This is just my class notes on photojournalism and the basic rules of photography.

Photojournalism - My Work

These are the images i took on my first shoot i have used three from this shoot in my final 8 images to show the deprived areas before they have been regenerated some of the streets are boarded up with one house still with all the window and doors with people still living there refusing to leave, some are totally derelict.

These are images from my second shoot this is before i had changed my idea i haven't used any of these images for my final 8.

This is the contact sheet from my third shoot its a regenerated area of Blackburn near the old infirmary there is already a few houses built in this area i ch

ose to take them of the building work going on so it could show the next step to the new houses being built.

This is the contact sheet from my fourth shoot, it is of an area in Blackburn where there used to be rows of terrace houses however now as you can see there is a flattened overgrown field where they used to be, i used one of these images in my final 8 to try and tell the story of how the houses get knocked down and flattened ready for the new houses to be built on top of where the old ones used to be.

These were my possible images before i changed my idea, and the contact sheet from that and also a contact sheet with the images i used for my pecha cutcha.

These are my chosen final 8 images, this is before editing, although i think the images look fine un-edited i think with the images look more dramatic and tell the story better after they have been edited.

These are my final 8 images i chose these ones because i think they tell the best story of all the images. these are the final 8 images after editing in the first four images i have dropped the saturation down to strip some of the colour out to make them look more gloomy and depressing the next image in the fifth where the story becomes more hopeful i have tried to go somewhere in the middle and haven't really done to much to it then in the final three i have upped the saturation and altered the levels to bring out the colours in the image and make them look stronger, also pushed up the blues to make the sky look brighter and more positive happier cleaner and more homely i also put a slight vinyette on the image to draw your eye in to the main subject in the image. I am quite pleased with my final images and am glad i have changed my idea slightly to make it a more positive story.

My conclusion for this brief is that although i was a slow starter and found it hard to get into i found that once i had slightly changed my idea from my original doom and gloom idea and to more of a happy ending story i quite enjoyed it in the end and i am quite impressed with my final images and hope to have achieved what i set out to do and have told a story with my images of the regeneration of a town.

Photojournalism - The Idea

First Idea

I was a bit of a slow starter with this brief, i then i had an idea, i initially set out to investigatestories i had read about in local press about people being forced out of there own homes where they had lived for many years, for the council to regenerate the area this is know as a compulsory purchase order, and there is much controversy surrounding it. To begin with i visited the areas where compulsory purchase orders have been put into place and photographed these areas, hoping to show the negative affects of throwing people out of there homes where they had lived for many years. After this I visited areas which had already been regenerated and in my opinion these areas are a much nicer, cleaner and safer places to live.

I Finlay decided to produce my work about the positive effects of regeneration in my town, rather than the negative effects of the compulsory purchase orders, showing the story of a derelict neighbourhood to a modern regenerated area.

A compulsory purchase order (CPO) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland that allows certain bodies which need to obtain land or property to do so without the consent of the owner. It may be used, for example, when building motorways where a land owner does not want to sell. Similarly, if town councils wish to develop a town centre, they may issue compulsory purchase orders.

In the Republic of Ireland, CPOs are quite common due to the massive road upgrade programme under the National Development Plan. CPOs are also used for rail projects. If a person objects to the issuing of a CPO, they may appeal to the High Court.[1]

In the United Kingdom, most Orders are made as subordinate legislation under powers given to Local Authorities in existing legislation (e.g. an Order for road works is made under the Highways Act 1980). Whilst the powers are strong the Authority must demonstrate that the taking of the land is necessary and there is a "compelling case in the public interest". Owners or occupiers can challenge this, and their objection will be heard by an independent Inspector.

Compensation rights usually include the value of the property, costs of acquiring and moving to a new property, and sometimes additional payments. Costs of professional advice regarding compensation are usually reimbursed by the Authority, so that people affected by a compulsory purchase order can seek advice from a solicitor and a surveyor and expect to be reimbursed.

- A little more about compulsory purchase orders

Compulsory Purchase Orders

Local Authorities have power under various Acts to compulsory purchase a property. The powers range from redevelopment under the Town and Country Planning Act, to property clearance under the Housing Act. The Council must have a specific power under statute before a Compulsory Purchase Order can be made. Compulsory Purchase Orders can be used for a number of purposes, including:

• Clearance of unfit housing - Housing Act 1985

• Bringing empty properties back into use - Housing Act 1985

• Development or regeneration - Town and Country Planning Act 1990

• Local road schemes - Highways Act 1980

Within our Borough, compulsory purchase powers have been used in the recent past for a number of road schemes, including the West Malling and Leybourne Bypasses and the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and M2 widening, and are currently being used by the Borough Council to acquire an individual dwelling house for continued housing use.

Compulsory Purchase Orders must be approved by the council and then follow a formal statutory process.

The basic steps are as follows:

1.instructions received to make a Compulsory Purchase Order.

2.obtain information regarding legal interests in the land including serving requisitions for information, title checks and notification of affected persons that their interests in the land can be sold to the authority in advance of compulsory purchase or a Order will be served in due course.

3.draft report regarding compulsory purchase including draft Statement of Reasons for making, and the draft CPO itself to present to Cabinet.

4.Cabinet approves Compulsory Purchase Order.

5.the Order is formally made by affixing the Council's Seal, advertisements are placed in the press, formal Notices including a copy of the Compulsory Purchase Order and the statutory forms served upon all persons of legal interests in the land. This allows a 28 day objection period.

If objections are received the Secretary of State will direct a Compulsory Purchase Order Inquiry to be held. This is held within a timescale set by the Secretary of State and will normally involve a Pre-Inquiry Meeting and a formal Open Public Inquiry into whether the Compulsory Purchase Order should be confirmed or not. Once the Inquiry has been completed, the Inspector will put a report before the Secretary of State who will decide whether to confirm the Order as drawn, modify it, or reject the Compulsory Purchase Order.

If there are no objections the Secretary of State, or in certain circumstances the local authority, confirm the Compulsory Purchase Order. 
Once a Compulsory Purchase Order has been confirmed the Council can serve a General Vesting Declaration, or a Notice to Treat / Entry which will transfer the legal interest from the then owner to the Borough council. After this the development / clearance can begin.

The various Acts lay down a set of rules for compensating persons who have had legal interests compulsory purchased, based upon putting that individual into a similar position as before they lost their interest, either by compensating them in money terms and / or providing them with alternative accommodation.

You may be interested in Compulsory purchase and compensation booklets issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Blackburn is currently undergoing a physical and cultural renaissance. In 1998 major regeneration work began to address some of the issues facing the town and create the master plan for the Blackburn of the future – attractive, accessible, economically viable and thriving. In short, a great place to live, work, visit and invest.

Driven by Blackburn with Darwen Council, the work has been funded by public bodies including the North West Development Agency, European Regional Development Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. There has also been significant private sector investment, particularly in the development of The Malls.

History - Blackburn Living

History

Blackburn first gets a mention in the Domesday Book, as Blackburn, in 1086, but the town really came into its own during the Industrial Revolution when it became one of the world’s first industrialised towns.

A centre of weaving since the 13th century, textile manufacture rapidly became Blackburn’s main industry until by the mid 19th century it was known as the “weaving capital of the world” and its population rose dramatically from less than 5,000 to over 130,000.

The cotton industry went into a terminal decline in the mid 20th century and Blackburn’s mills were slowly closed down. By 1976 there were only 2,100 looms still in operation, from a peak of 79,405 in 1907. Blackburn faced many of the same issues as other northern industrial towns such as high unemployment, movement of the population to other towns and cities and lack of investment.

Today, however, Blackburn is benefiting from major regeneration with significant improvements made over the last 15 years and more impressive plans for the future. Blackburn has reinvented itself as a thriving, modern, multi-cultural town, drawing on its fascinating industrial heritage to attract investors and tourists alike.

Housing

The shift from the domestic system to the factory system inevitably brought with it huge changes in both working conditions and living conditions for the burgeoning workforce. From living in the settlements of handloom weavers' dwellings, which were situated around the more rural areas of the town, the workers moved into the industrial areas nearer the town centre.

A boom in cotton mill building occurred from 1850-1870, after the coming of the railway. Prior to this, mills had been situated close to the rivers and canal. As the railway followed the route of the canal through a large part of Blackburn, this did not change the location of mills initially. Mill colonies developed on the outskirts of the town, but eventually moved to any suitable open space.

The main colonies were those at Brookhouse, Nova Scotia and Grimshaw Park. These contained the largest mills in the town.

Housing followed the pattern of these mill colonies. Most workers needed to live close to their workplace with the result that streets were built and continued to be built as the mills expanded.

Housing for the workers was partly built by the mill owners and partly by speculators who bought the leasehold of plots from landowners such as the Feildens. The first homes built specifically for mill workers by the mill owners were those round the first spinning mill at Wensley Fold.

By the 1850s for example almost 100% of the housing in the streets round Hornby's mills was owned by him. Around 13% of the town's housing was owned by the mill owners by the 1870s. However by the 1890s much of this housing was sold off.

Initially housing was largely concentrated around the town centre, but gradually moved out to areas such as Witton, and began to appear up the hills surrounding Blackburn. Interestingly, Blackburn had very few back-to-back houses and the housing was generally of a higher standard than that of nearby towns. A local Act of Parliament laid down standards for size and ventilation of rooms. A housing shortage was not seen during the 19th century. There was a high turnover of tenants, as can be seen from the Census, when working class families are rarely at the same address from one Census to the next. Frequently they would only move to another house on the same street or to one in an adjoining street.

Typically such houses, from the second half of the 19th century onwards, would be terraced and contain four rooms. These would be a living room/kitchen at the front, with a scullery/workhouse at the back. There would be two bedrooms. There would be a yard that contained the toilet, and this yard would lead on to the back street. Towards the end of the century an improved version of this house was seen. It followed the basic plan of the earlier model with extra space, such as a lobby and third bedroom. The front room now became the 'parlour'. Bathrooms were rare, with only 182 in 20,000 working class houses in 1908.

Terraced and Modern Housing

The first terraced houses in Blackburn for mill workers appeared in the early nineteenth century and were built by the mill owners. They were constructed as you might construct a pig sty with consideration only for the beast's physical requirements. There was no consideration given to comfort, individuality, aesthetics, quality of life, or indeed to the human environment generally. Blackburn was no worse in this respect than other industrial towns, was in fact better, in that a local act passed in 1854 set down standards as regards dimensions and ventilation of rooms. However for the early workers coming to the town's first mills, some of whom would have left cottages and rural retreats, the accomodation and crowded streets must have been demoralising and brutalising. Even as recently as the 1960s an East African Asian arriving in Blackburn and seeing the long rows of terraced housing, assumed that they must be warehouses for the storage of goods. In fact they were warehouses for the storage of another commodity: human labour.

Blackburn's few back-to-backs were all demolished by the First World War. These were often two roomed houses: one bedroom with one room downstairs. The toilet was at the end of the street and shared with other people. Later houses were four roomed: two bedrooms with two rooms downstairs. This might seem adequate, but families were large then with often seven or more children. As an example: Cyprus Street in Darwen, which in 1991 had half a dozen children under the age of ten, in 1881 had over 100. A bedroom therefore might have five or more children sleeping in it. Children would often sleep in the same room as their parents until they were five or six, or older. With a few exceptions, such as Garden Village in Darwen, and Saltaire in Bradford, no attempt was made to provide anything but the most basic accomodation for workers.

The mill owners built quite different houses for themselves. Henry Sudell built Woodfold Hall, William Feilden built Feniscowles Hall and Henry Feilden built Witton House. Those slightly less wealthy built villas on Preston new Road and on Revidge and Billinge. They were often set in their own grounds, had more than a dozen rooms, with accomodation for servants.

After the First World War new estates were built at Brownhill and Intack. After the Second World War the estate at Shadsworth was built and the high-rise developments at Lark Hill and Mill Hill. Much of the old terraced housing was cleared. Although this was often substandard without bathroom or inside toilet, the people living there preferred it to the new estates, where there was no sense of community and often not enough in the way of shops and pubs. The policy was modified later and resources were provided to refurbish the older terraced property.

Regenaration

Getting around

Traffic congestion and poor pedestrian access were highlighted as major problems in the town centre. A new orbital route around the town was an essential part of Blackburn’s regeneration and has removed unnecessary traffic and opened up major new development sites. Pedestrianising or increasing pedestrian priority in some town centre roads has also removed through traffic and made the town centre safer for those travelling on foot.

The £9 million Freckleton Street Bridge, due for completion in 2009, and new link road to Montague Street will complete the transport transformation.

A better environment

Major public realm improvements have turned around the public perception of the town and created an attractive physical environment with pedestrian-friendly public spaces. The overall image of the town centre has been improved and greater links have been made between the centre and several key areas of the town, such as Church Street, Darwen Street, King Street, Sudell Cross and Whalley Range, opening up greater opportunities for future investment.

Regeneration hotspots

Church Street

A £3 million project to regenerate this area was completed in 2003. The historic Waterloo Pavilions were renovated, creating three new independent businesses, a new visitor centre and café has increased visitor numbers and the new entrance to The Mall will vastly improve the appearance of the street.

King Street Heritage Corridor

This historic gateway to the town has undergone major public realm improvements and several of the town’s important heritage buildings are now back in commercial use thanks to a Townscape Heritage Initiative programme. The most ambitious of these is 33 King Street, renovated by the East Lancs Deaf Society, which now houses modern offices and retail accommodation.

Blackburn College

A multi-million pound project is ongoing to turn the college into a world-class academic campus with a view to securing university status in the future. The first phase featured the environmentally friendly St Paul’s Centre, housing the new sixth form and IT suite, which opened in September 2007. Further developments include higher and adult education buildings and a motor vehicle workshop among others.

Whalley Range Bazaar

Once out on a limb beyond Barbara Castle Way, the vibrant Whalley Range Bazaar has now been integrated into the main shopping area with a £1.3 million environmental improvement scheme featuring new pedestrian links, attractive signage, paving and street furniture and exciting new branding. The area is now being promoted to Asian and non-Asian visitors as one of Blackburn’s leading tourist destinations.

The Mall

The giant concrete walls of The Mall, which effectively cut the town in half, are undergoing a £66 million facelift, transforming the town’s main shopping centre into a spectacular, three-story, glazed retail experience. The project, which is due to be completed in 2009, will provide Blackburn with 20 new shops, including major chain stores, 200 additional parking spaces and a new continental style market.

Sudell Cross

Once blighted by traffic congestion and ugly street clutter, this gateway street is now reaching its full potential thanks to a £1.3 million environmental improvement scheme. Traffic has been removed and views restored along the street, providing visitors with a high quality environment to match the high quality shops and cafes situated here. The emphasis is now on pleasant outside space, ideal for pavement cafes and outdoor events.

Cathedral Quarter

One of Blackburn’s hidden gems, the award-winning Cathedral Quarter has the renovated Anglican Cathedral as the centrepiece of a cluster of regeneration projects. Phase 1 of a £45 million project to regenerate the Cathedral Precinct gets underway in 2008/09 and includes apartments, retail/leisure units, underground parking, two new public green spaces, an ecclesiastical library and the county’s first new cathedral close, Clergy Court, to be built since mediaeval times.

Capita Blackburn Business Centre

This £3.5 million landmark building on Barbara Castle Way was completed in 2004, bringing 200 new public sector jobs to Blackburn and opening up a previously underused area of the town centre. The Capita building has set the standard for design in this area and it is hoped that other public sector office developments will follow.

Other improvements

Not all of the improvements to Blackburn town centre are physical. Several business support projects and employment initiatives are underway to boost the town’s economy, while public transport services have been improved to help access to the town. A cleanliness and maintenance programme has been introduced with a town centre manager to oversee improvements and town centre rangers employed to deal with issues on the ground. Greater security measures are now in place around the town centre and work is ongoing to promote Blackburn as a tourist destination.