Photocompetition August 2005 "At Work"

[sovietpop]

drum roll.

After intense consulation, Skim and I have agreed on this months theme.

This months theme is 'Work' or 'At work' (that is, there is a difference between being in a workplace and actually working, fag break anyone).

So you can think of 'at work' as a verb, something that is being done or as a place, somewhere people are either forced to be or are carrying out work.

You can think of 'work' in terms of objects that symbolises that has to be done, or as people in the act of doing.

where I got the idea;

I was at a course recently about how people fill in time diaries, and one of the interesting things that came up was that if people are asked to note what people are present when they fill in their diaries, they never mention that serving staff (like waiters, or shop assistants) are there, even though they most likely are. Which made me think that perhaps people working in the public arena become invisible. Which made me think about whether some types of work itself is invisible. So I'd be interested to see what you come up with.

Rules:

* Up to 3 pictures allowed

* Post up the link, not the picture

* All entries must be in by last day of August

* Only use pictures you photographed yourself

* If you edit the picture then tell us what you did

* Please don’t change pictures once you have entered them

* Voting starts on 1st September and ends on 3rd September. Anyone can vote, you don't have to have entered. Vote for your 1st 2nd and 3rd favourites. 1st choice is worth 3 points, 2nd 2 points and 3rd 1 point -- person with the most points wins and chooses the next theme.

You can use your own web space, photo.net, photobucket.com or pbase.com to host your pictures for free. Or any others you choose or see fit to use.

Votes/comments/contributions from all urbanites welcome!

Thumbnails of all the photos can be found at

link to thumbnails

[firky]

Excellent

[sovietpop]

phew., so it hasn't been done before. Ironically skim is on a day off today so couldn't post

[kropotkin]

Ace- a great theme, and one that will let me indulge my workerist tendencies. Fetishisation of traditional forms of work ahoy!

[exosculate]

Excellent theme. Lots of potential in this one.

[sajana]

Excellent theme.

[Onket]

Good choice. My new camera is being delivered (hopefully) tomorrow, so I might even have a go myself.

[exosculate]

Good choice. My new camera is being delivered (hopefully) tomorrow, so I might even have a go myself.

What are you buying?

[Onket]

A Pentax Optio WP.

It's bought, just waiting for delivery.

Quite excited!

[exosculate]

A Pentax Optio WP.

It's bought, just waiting for delivery.

Quite excited!

Nice

[Onket]

Nice

[alef]

First entry (recent shot taken near Crystal Palace):
Domestic appliance

[firky]

off topic, but do you know what they call the ornate blocks of wood on the end of a shops front? As appear on the left and right, of the sign?

anyone - i need to know!!

[blackadder]

My first entry..To repent for their sins

[firky]

My first entry..To repent for their sins

'Mass'

Class!

[Addy]

Out of tollerance
Out of focus too

[alef]

...I was at a course recently about how people fill in time diaries, and one of the interesting things that came up was that if people are asked to note what people are present when they fill in their diaries, they never mention that serving staff (like waiters, or shop assistants) are there, even though they most likely are. Which made me think that perhaps people working in the public arena become invisible. Which made me think about whether some types of work itself is invisible...

This is a very interesting issue. I'm not so sure it's an issue of being in the public arena so much, more of what grabs people's attention and focus of priority.

For a year now I've been a school teacher, and my main attention in the classroom is the kids. Also in the classroom can be up to three teaching assistants who, I'm embarrassed to say, sometimes become invisible to me! This is a big issue, as some of them need directing towards the pupils in need of support. And it's also a concern as teaching assistants are poorly paid, looked down upon by many pupils and easily feel neglected and become disaffected with their work. Hopefully with more teaching experience I'll juggle everything with more balance.

Anyway, my point is simply that becoming blind to people working around us is a complex and interesting issue. Capturing this through photography is certainly not easy, but it'll be interesting to try...

[Paul Russell]

Here's one:

dusting

[KeeperofDragons]

A chance to use a piccy

Feel the heat

KoD

[Lazy Llama]

Taken from an auto-rickshaw in Kochi, India:

Spice market, Kochi

[Louloubelle]

Barber's shop
http://www.pbase.com/louloubelle/image/30224122

[Skim]

After intense consulation

Thanks for sorting out the thred, Sovietpop – I couldn't face sitting at a computer on my day off

[sajana]

here is my first entry. i took this picture of my team-mates when we were shooting a documentary last year.

an interview in progress

once again congrats to both skim and sovietpop for the excellent theme.

[lozmatic]

I'm off on holiday next week so half of August will not be about work for me

First entry is from 2001 - Tim

[jeff_leigh]

i didn't want to post a photo of any of the miserable twats in my office so took this instead