Maciej Dawowicz · Cardiff after dark

Maciej Dawowicz · Cardiff after dark

About Maciej Dawowicz shots

These shots are articulated to show some of the problems of people being drunk has caused in around the city of Cardiff. Maciej wanted to show the negativity of what being drunk has caused for the city and what people can get up to the influence of drugs or alcohol. I am gobsmacked when looking at Maciej’s shots because I am used to Cardiff being a busy tourist location with no litter or chaos that can loom overnight. Maciej’s shots are designed to communicate what some people might see and understand what the problem could be in Cardiff. When shooting Maciej uses a Canon EOS 5D with hid focal length tending on being 35 mm while if we're shooting this my focal length could end up being 70mm plus due to the scale.

How has Maciej used the problems in Cardiff to show emotion?

The Book cover · Cardiff after dark

Maciej uses the emotion of fun as shown with the transvestite and the shots above.  I think this important when showing the emotion because I like how it shows how the location shows the problems.   When researching I found a quote that he gave to an interview:

Britons can have fun. ‘To the fallen.’ They will be happy to show their performances at the Ibiza, Canary or Cracow shows. As it turns out, at home they can also "go all out" with fantasy and with a snob, as photographed in the series "Cardiff after dark" (polskieradio & Czwórka, 2013).

I believe that Maciej has used this to create the Ibiza feeling that he wanted to do this in the quote when he was just starting out on his work. I think the Ibiza feeling can be felt and understood when looking at the shots that he has done, and it makes me relate to the shots and makes me think that people here in the United Kingdom can go out and party and have fun and look silly.

The Transvestite

Cardiff after dark – a stag night in a pink dress.

Exposure: This shot here has got a shutter speed of 1/30 and having an aperture of f/2 and with ISO 1600. I am interested in how the shot has got a good depth of field with the shot because it is known having a high aperture means a low depth field but the way Maciej has composed the shots and how it is not blurry with having an incredibly low shutter speed, which could make the shot look interesting. Maciej has also used a 35mm focusing because he knew he could capture the background while getting the man enjoying his stag night out in Cardiff, which is fascinating and amusing.

About the shot: This shot fascinates me about how some normal guys might go into the pub at night comes out in a dress looking like that he either a transvestite or gender-neutral. I like how Maciej has composed his shot because he has got the drunken man trying to climb over the fence and showing the emotion that he is not body concise and that he is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Emotions from these shots, This shot conveys the emotions of laughter because of the fashion that the man is wearing, and he looks interesting. The feeling of curiosity is shown because of his facial expression showing that he is after something while this is removed by the main focal point of the dress. The way the shots are translated into a normal person’s mind will make people look twice and get people excited and laughter.

The fast-food at a Bus stop

‘Fast Food at a Bus Stop.’ – Cardiff after dark 

Exposure: The exposure for this shot had the shutter speed on 1/50 while this had a high aperture of, f/1.8, ISO 1600, 35mm. this shot had a higher aperture compared to the transvestite shot but at the same time managing to keep the strong depth of field and capture all three planes on this shot and I am guessing Maciej has used a tripod for the low shutter speed.

About this shot: This shot is designed to show the problem of people waiting for the bus and not having a litterbin to put their McDonalds and other fast foods meals in the bin. This shot is interesting because it shows the couple on the left eating their take away and it is implied that the litter on the left is related to them. While the shot on the right shows them having eaten their food and it implies the litter is on the floor. In the future, if I see people doing these I am going to shoot what is going on because I want to make people aware of the problem that is going on the street at night and during the day.

Emotions from these shots: The emotion of these shots is disgust because of the litter all over the street and the problem is huge in the UK. Another emotion coming from these shots is anger as they must walk across the street with rubbish down the road and makes people think that tramps walks down and live down the streets. The other feeling is making people think my tax is going down to fix the streets to clear the litter up.

Pole Dancing 

 Pole Dancing – Cardiff after dark 

This shot is articulated to show the man on the left doing tricks on the pole at night. I am interested about how Maciej has mange to compose these shots with the man going around the pole, as it would have been hard to take at any time because it is not a natural position that anyone would normally be in. I think the shot is designed to show people that want to do when they are under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

Emotions from these shots

This shot conveys the emotion of amusement because it looks like the person looks like that, he is having fun. Even though Maciej properly had set this up as I had mentioned he wanted to show that people in the United Kingdom were open to let their hair down and even if it does mean spinning around the people while they are intoxicated.

How could I use Maciej’s work in my work?

I am going to use Maciej’s work as inspiration showing that not one shot is to complicate when it comes to shooting my work. I might not get shots like the way he has done it, but I want to use his shots to capture the vibe of any location that I might go to and show what the southeast is like.

How does Cardiff After Dark Portray?

How do these images portray people/subject?

Maciej work portrays people of having fun with not having care and most of his shots show the problem of people drinking and getting around and having fun. The subjects are not set up, but he waits for the shots. He has written on his website about what he wants to show his subjects are like.

Everything takes place in public – from drinking, fighting, kissing to crying and sleeping. There are queues outside popular bars and the security guards together with police patrols, keep an eye on the whole spectacle. (Dakowicz, 2012)

What Maciej has shown is that he does not go into bars but stay outside as quoted above there is no major action inside as it is heavily policed because of the problems he has highlighted in his work and the bartender will not want that in the pub.

How do these images portray Society? These images portray society of being drunk and disorderly and that everyone is out looking like an idiotic every weekend and they do not care about littering or looking a fool. His work has been designed to portray society in a humour way, not in a way to humiliate Britain and Wales.
How do these images portray stereotypes?

These images portray the stereotype of drunk distortedly members of society and that they get up to no good. The stereotypes portray a negative look on a stunning and interesting piece of work. I like how people with no care will think what a bunch of idiots that are drunk while people will understand and look at his work in a different context of it being a laugh.

What did Maciej want the viewers to get out of the book?

I simply want them to enjoy the book, have a good time going through it. I want them to be amused, sad, shocked and laughing. I want a full gamut of emotions, as it is what you get on a weekend night in Cardiff or any other British town. I want people not only to appreciate single images but also to find connection between pictures, all these little stories hidden there.  (Kim, 2012)

This shows that he wanted people to want to connect with his book, unlike the Daily Mail who calls his project a sham and people going like ‘This where our taxes are going.” I believe that this book has been done to make people connect with what goes in the town late at night. Most people do not believe this because we do not go out and get drunk.

What is the context? The context of his work was to show the fun in Cardiff after dark and to show what problems can occur when people have too much to drink. His context was never to give the City of Cardiff a bad name but show that we need to relax but drink sensibly.

How have news companies portrayed this?

I have researched two big news companies the Guardian, Daily Mail and BBC news I will be showing below the Title or Subtitle from their websites

The Guardian,  (O'Hagan, 2012) 

Cardiff After Dark by Maciej Dakowicz
The Polish-born photographer's epic study of Cardiff nightlife is a hymn to camaraderie and pleasure-seeking`

This heading is explicit with it saying that what the work is about and who is the artist. The subheading is briefly explaining about the information relating to Maciej work. The heading is not rude and is not judgemental against Maciej.

Because of the subject matter of these photographs – the ways in which young people choose to enjoy themselves to excess on a Saturday night – you could say that Cardiff After Dark is a visual essay about Britain's binge-drinking culture. If you were you so inclined, you could even view it as a snapshot of what has gone wrong with Britain since deference and good manners gave way to lack of respect and vulgarity. "Captured on our streets by a foreign lens, the shaming images that turned Britain into a laughing stock," ran a Daily Mail headline from September 2011, which managed to shoot the messenger and fume about this nation's disgrace.

This paragraph shows the problem that news companies are trying to get on their political perspective on his work. The Observer has been a lot kinder to the Maciej’s work compared to the mail because they see him trying to create a fun and happy location and shots.

Daily Mail (Hardman, 2011) 

Captured on our streets by a foreign lens, shaming images that turned Britain into a laughing stock

This headline was designed to roast and ridicule Maciej, as the Daily mail does not agree with the shots he has done. The quotes below show how the problem is what I see coming from this editor’s point of view and that he believes that he is not being patriotic to the UK and it is explicitly clear that the laughs are patronising.

Around 50 of these images were presented at the prestigious festival on a giant screen. The critics lapped them up.
 ‘The reaction was very positive,’ says Dakowicz. ‘The audience was laughing.  They were making fun of British people.’
 No doubt they were.
 The nation, which was once regarded as a buttoned-up bunch of repressive in bowler hats, is now a land of incontinent alcoholics.  Spiffing, eh?

The main reason why the Daily mail ridiculed him is that he is Polish, and they won't make it look like he is trying to take the mick out of Wales. The Mail wanted to have a negative view of how he has shown his work because they do not want the UK to look like a drunken Country.

BBC News (BBC News, 2012). 

Cardiff After Dark nightlife photos go on show  
Sometimes surreal, sometimes controversial - Dakowicz says he has tried to capture Cardiff nightlife. A controversial collection of a photo depicting Cardiff nightlife is going on show in the city for the first time.
The BBC’s point of view is that they have no option apart from that they are telling the reader about what it has not got a lot of support and people do not like the style Maciej has done it.
Do these articles change my opinion?

Overall these articles do not change my opinion overall after reading the Mail I agree that it is not patriotic but Maciej only wanted to document the truth. I believe that if he did not include the location and just showed the shots the reaction would not be this dramatic. I loved looking at his work as it made me laugh but I believe he wanted to show a problem with alcohol.

Bibliography

BBC News, 2012. Cardiff After Dark nightlife photos go on the show. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-19936135
[Accessed 15 12 2019].

Dakowicz, M., 2012. Cardiff After Dark. [Online]
Available at: http://www.maciejdakowicz.com/cardiff-after-dark/
[Accessed 15 12 2019].

Hardman, R., 2011. Captured on our streets by a foreign lens, shaming images that turned Britain into a laughing stock. [Online]
Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2040260/Maciej-Dakowicz-Cardiff-After-Dark-binge-drinking-images-turned-Britain-laughing-stock.html
[Accessed 15 12 2019].

Kim, E., 2012. Interview with Maciej Dakowicz on his “Cardiff After Dark” book Published by Thames & Hudson. [Online]
Available at: http://erickimphotography.com/blog/2012/10/10/interview-with-maciej-dakowicz-on-his-cardiff-after-dark-book-published-by-thames-hudson/
[Accessed 15 12 2019].

O'Hagan, S., 2012. Cardiff After Dark by Maciej Dakowicz. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/sep/30/cardiff-after-dark-maciej-dakowicz
[Accessed 15 12 2019].

The Welsh "go to town" -polskieradio, n.d. The Welsh "go to town". [Online]
Available at: https://www.polskieradio.pl/10/216/Artykul/769423,Zwyciezcy-Milacha-biora-wszystko