I have decided to base my project on waste within the very normal English city of Coventry. The reason for picking this city is its positioning in the UK with it sitting right in the middle, and also its medium sized population. I didn't want to pick a city with a very large population such as London or Manchester because I felt that the city would be too large and take too long to get an idea of the waste problem. Furthermore I have decided to cut down my definition of 'waste' and only look at a few different types which come under the heading of scrap, this allows me to look specifically at this and understand our problem with throwing out things we could potentially recycle.
Like Wang Jiuliang I decided to start my project by going onto google maps and typing in 'scrap coventry', this has then highlighted the different relevant places inside the Coventry area that I can visit. These places are highlighted with red dots, and as you can see, even in a medium sized city there is many dots for the specific term of scrap waste.
After looking on the map I picked a small scrap place to start my project because I thought it would be better to start small and then work my self up to larger places. When I arrived I was really taken back how it was placed within a residential area but surrounded by gates so the public couldn't see inside for safety. This scrapyard was mainly for old or crashed cars, and I was amazed at how many they had in such a small scrapyard in the middle of a normal estate in the centre of Coventry. I began by taking documentary photographs of the scrapyard to get the general size and scale of the site, I do this because I think this is the best technique to show the viewer how big it is. I had to call the scrapyard owner to organise a day to come by which was good for him, but he was quite happy with letting me visit his yard.
This image is interesting because it shows the difference between nature and man-made objects, because of the composition it looks as if nature is struggling to survive and being taken over by man which actually is the case and is thus a perfect image to start my project. On the other side of the tree's are houses which shows how the scrapyard is within the residential area which you wouldn't ever know from just passing the site from the outside.
The images above and below, help to show some of the scale of the site due to the many cars that I have captured in the image. This image also shows how the scars are not even that old, and could probably have been repaired but now they are just sitting gathering dust. These photo's also show a cold and dismal outlook for our waste problem, which is seen in the images being really grey and look lifeless.
I think this image works really well in showing the busyness of a normal scrapyard, this is can be seen through the many different tire marks on the ground. Rule of thirds can also be seen in this image, as it is split evenly up into one third of the sky, one third of the building and one third of the ground. One can also see the England flag in the background which shows the proud heritage and culture the owner has.
These two images above and below, show the randomness of what you can find in these places such as a stack of tires or old engines from cars. I prefer the image below because it gives you a better sense of scale, and also the old metal sheets on the floor make an interesting composition.
This is the first image the viewer can see which shows how close to residential houses this site actually is, this reflects our 'out of sight, out of mind' culture. Because we don't think about where our waste will end up, and because we cant see it we don't ever consider it again, but these places are all around our city.
This image shows a strong value with heritage and culture, with the England flag taking up the centre of the little workshop. This place is very small and privately owned which can be seen through the use of these personal items, that probably wouldn't be seen at larger companies.
This image looks interesting through the use of 'faker Mr fish' text, whatever that may mean. I asked the owner about this but he said that the car just arrive with this already on it.
This image again shows the English heritage on the vehicle they use the transport cars around with.
Here you can see more engines and other odd bits of scrap lying around underneath of a car on a jack. The letter 'A' is used to know which cars they need to put up on these things which allows them to get to the underside of the car.
These two images use levels of repetition, and show how the scrapyard is organised into different areas. So even though to an outsider it looks completely random, when you get closer and begin documenting the yard you see that it has actually been organised in this way.
This image further shows what random objects you can find in this place, because they don't really know what might come through the door next. This can be seen with the randomness of the car seat on top of the car.
This shows how they transport the cars/ objects to and from the yard, as you can see this is an always changing environment with cars coming in and out. This juxtaposes the idea of a scrapyard because even though the cars have reached the end of their life, the yard is alive and always changing.
This shows a nodding dog wearing an English flag, which furthermore shows how proud the owner is of his heritage and culture.
These images were my favourite that I took to start my waste project. I think documenting this place was the best way to start my project because it has given me a good idea of what to expect in one of these small scrapyards. Its also made me start thinking about re-visiting this sight to photograph some of the scrap closer up.