Task: Discuss the work of a historical (Pre 1970’s) ‘black & white’ photographer

August Sander (17 November 1876 – 20 April 1964) was a German portrait and documentary photographer.

This photograph by August Sander is of a German soldier and is from his 'People of the 20th Century" series. The photograph is completely black and white portrait in a military location with the soldier in focus and the background out of focus. Sander's work focuses mostly on portraiture and creating a story behind the image, almost giving us and insight into the character and creating a story for them. We assume that the photograph was taken during the war so it is relevant to the events. 

Soldier by August Sander (People of the 20th Century) 

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Statement of Intent

For my A2 Unit 3 project I intend to investigate how British identity is represented and how it can contrast with other cultures that feature in British society. I will explore documentary style photography and photojournalism and plan to experiment with mixed media to create different ideas, and want to explore black and white, which features as a mini project in the course. I will also use the other two mini projects that will feature; light & shadow and combining images, and incorporate these into my final work. I want to photograph people, in particular, as well as their surroundings to be able to tell a story. I have researched many artists, such as Martin Parr, August Sander, Jack Hinds, Patrick Ward as well as the British Airways advertising campaigns that have helped me create a number of ideas. With Britain being synonymous for the number of foreign immigrants, I want to focus on the Eastern European and Muslim communities that exist in my local area and be able to tell their stories, as well as looking at how Britain is typically patriotic. I will shoot in London, in places such as Croydon and Chinatown, and go to multicultural places like Crawley and Brighton where I will be able to capture some good shots. I took some images over the summer of the culture in Portugal, where I went on holiday, so will use these images to inspire my later shoots.