Final magazine shot selections

The photographs shown below are the images I have selected to be used in my final magazine pages.

 I shall use this wide shot of Roche Rock as the main background image for the front cover of my magazine. I have chosen this photograph because it is an idealistic portrayal of Cornwall; The image of Roche rock is iconic amongst Cornish people and will serve to provide a recognisable image that relates to Cornish heritage. It was important to include a picture like this in order for my magazine's front cover to connote the idea of 'heritage' as this is a large factor of my magazine as it is advertised as one half of my content and accounts for part of the genre my magazine falls into (regional tourism magazines).

This image is a wide shot of the subject, I chose to use this kind of shot in order to establish the ruins in the landscape, this was imperative as readers of the magazine will want to see the Cornish countryside and the points of interest that they will be visiting. I took the picture from dirt path in front of the ruins which is the main access for Roche rock, this is where visitors would be viewing the building from and will inevitably be the most recognisable point of view, especially for those who have previously seen the landmark.

I wished to obtain an idealised representation of the county to go on the cover page, so this meant I would have to take the picture on a sunny day, and then include earthly and natural colours that are the primary features of the Cornish country side. As it happens I managed to obtain my photographs on a bright cloudless day, this enabled me to pick up colours of yellow, blue and green that contrasted with the greys of the old architecture and the rock face.

I have chosen this image to be the background of my contents page. One of the reasons that I made this decision is so there is some association with the front cover, this is the inside of the ruins featured in the cover image so by turning the page the reader is progressing inside the building itself.
The colours featured within this image are extremely bright and natural, the ruins are bathed in sunlight that is emanating from the clear blue sky above while casting a dark shadow below. This successfully represents an idealistic depiction of Cornwall and is exactly what my target audience will want to see, the image connotes positivity, mystery and suggests discovery. Again this image represents the 'heritage' side of my main themes, in hindsight it may have been a good idea to take a variety of photographs that represent both heritage and family attractions in order to appeal to my entire target audience.

This image will appear in the background of my feature article's double page spread. I have selected this picture because it ties in with my article about Bodmin Jail, the window looks like a ghostly figure and therefore has a place on these pages. It is likely that I will use photoshop to adjust the image later on in order to darken the brickwork while keeping the light shining through.

I'm happy with the outcome of this selection of shots and I believe they will work well within my magazine. I'm particularly pleased with how my shots are composed as well as the variety of natural colours contained in my images, I think this  feature will be vital to the overall success of my magazine.

KerNow Roche Rock Photoshoot

Equipment list:

• Canon powershot G6 Camera
• Various lens filters

Location:

• Roche Rock

Crew:

• James Gibson

I have chosen Roche Rock to be the primary location of each of my main magazine shots, from these images I shall take the backgrounds for my front cover and contents page while making use of some as accompanying images. I initially chose to hold my photoshoot at these ruins to capture images that appropriately represented the historical elements of Cornish life

This is a very typical shot of Roche Rock, I would not plan to use this image because of it's similarity to others I have seen taken by other photographers. although I do like the gradual graduation of white to blue in the sky background.

I wasn't happy with the lack of colour variation in this shot, it doesn't help to promote the idea that Cornish weather is always sunny with clear blue skies. again this is a very stereotypical shot of Roche Rock.

I managed to capture a little more colour in this shot, however it still appears very dull and uncharacteristic.

I was more pleased with this shot because of the inclusion of the oddly shaped rock to the right of the image in conjunction with the ruins.

I was extremely pleased with this shot, the sun finally came out and reflected nicely off of the side of the ruins, I particularly like the variety of natural colours featured in the image.

This image is slightly brighter than the previous shot, I believe the sun rays coming from the bottom right add quite a pleasing effect to the picture, I feel this image would be appropriate for my Billboard's main background image.

I took this image from the doorway of the ruins looking out across the surrounding countryside of Cornwall, I feel this is an accurate representation of Cornish scenery. I think this picture would be best placed on my website at some stage.

I took this photograph as the sun was setting over the town of Roche, I tried to capture the church tower rising from between two boulders strewn on the side of the ruins.

Here I tried the same concept as the above image, but instead i tried to capture the sun shining through the two boulders, I am rather pleased with how this one turned out, I may again use this in my website.

I took this image once the sun had nearly set, I tried including the moon as a main feature of the image, however it did not appear as prominent as I had hoped.

This was a less characteristic image than I would have hoped, you can only just make out that this is Roche Rock.












I took this image while leaving the ruins, I'm not exactly sure why I found the subject interesting, but the lighting gave off a better effect than I had hoped.

The light shining from behind Roche Rock in this image seems to have obscured much of the colour from the ruins themselves, this was certainly not what I was aiming for.

This image was very similar to one of those above, although it was taken from a slightly different angle. like before I am pleased by the colour pallet displayed.

This image appeared to be a little 'washed out', I wasn't a fan of the composition of this photo.

Same as above, this photo seems washed out, the clear blue sky really didn't show in this one.

I was more pleased with this image, I managed to get into an angle where the colours were not obscured by the high levels of light on the day, I particularly like the way the sunlight hits the window arch at the top of the ruins.

This is another image taken from the threshold of the ruins, Like before however the colours outside seem to be washed out. I may still use this image for my website.

When taking this photo I thought the window space looked like a shining figure, like a ghost almost. I would certainly use this image somewhere in my magazine.

This image came out slightly brighter than before, although I am still pleased with the eerie feeling it gives off.

I wasn't very happy with the composition of this shot, it seemed far too 'head on'. However I was happy with the bright colour pallet and idealistic connotations promoted by the image.

I was much happier with the composition of this shot. I feel as if I should use this photo for the background image of my contents page.

Although I do like this image, I feels the previous shot shows off more depth and a sense of looking up at something grander. I feel like this belittles the ruins slightly.

I was happy with the contrast between man-made elements and natural countryside here. this image shows off the isolation of living in amongst the Cornish countryside. I would be inclined to use this image in my magazine.

This image limits the view of the countryside, I do not like it as much as the one above because of this.

I took this image while the sun was setting, however I obscured the sun by taking the image behind the rocks. I did this to capture the gradient of different colours in the distance

Although I'm pleased with this image it seems a bit misty when looking at the church, I may feature images like this on my website in a smaller format.

This image turned out to be very colourful, however it is rather uncharacteristic like the rest of the shots I have taken from this angle.

Like with the photo above, i captured the shrubs in the foreground, this meant that the flash from my camera reflected off of them causing more prominence. I will not use these photos.

Feature article

 On a typical, sunny afternoon in Cornwall you could be enjoying a cream tea in a quaint tea room, or taking a walk on one of the many beaches strewn along the beautiful Cornish coastline...But for those who seek something of a darker, and much more spooky nature, look no further than Bodmin Jail where tales of spirits and witchcraft are not only confined to Hallow's eve.

 Taking into account the Jail's history of keeping some of the county's grizzliest murderers, chaotic witches and terrifying mad men, it comes as no surprise that the building is said to be inhabited by many a restless soul.
 Bodmin Jail formally closed in 1927. Before this time it played host to countless public executions, while housing inmates that included young children who were brutally punished for crimes such as petty thievery which sometimes resulted in the youths being put to death. It was not uncommon for the jail to also see child murderers imprisoned, this included mothers who ended their babies lives in utter despair in hope of ensuring a better life for others of the family.
 Most namely of which is a tormented soul; Selina Wadge, convicted in 1878 of casting her two-year-old son to the bottom of a well so she could wed her lover. Many individuals have reported sightings of Selina's ghost roaming the jail, most commonly she has been seen, or simply heard sobbing in what was once her cell, as historic accounts describe her doing when she was lead to her death at the hangman's noose, the gallows of which are still present and on display to this day.
 Some visitors have also claimed to feel a breath on their face, or something ethereal touching or pulling at them. In other instances, whistling can be heard echoing from the long desolate prison cells.
 Those interested in the paranormal are naturally drawn to this place, in fact there are regularly held events at Bodmin Jail for those ghostly inclined individuals among us, hosted by psychic medium and energy therapist Mark Rablin. During the workshops that Mark guides, visitors are taken on overnight stays at the prison, and are taught about the art of divining and more psychic explorations while learning the vast, dark history of the Jail.
"I first became interested in learning more about psychic energy after attending an event at this prison," Mark explained. "There is no doubt that people do learn a lot and sometimes have extraordinary encounters when they come to spend the night here. At one event a few days ago, a table that several of us were sitting around actually hovered a few inches off the ground."
 Mark endeavours to show that paranormal instances aren't as terrifying as many may think. "The aim is to teach people to sense energies that we might not realise we're aware of" Some, he claims, often hear things, others actually witness these events.
 "One dramatic instance was when a lady visiting the prison in the day time saw a woman dressed in Victorian clothes and complained that her outfit wasn't realistic and that she didn't want to see second rate actors around the exhibition. Selina Wadge then melted back into the wall she was standing next to and the lady apparently rushed to the bar area in a very distressed state."
 Mark recalls an event where he was physically pushed from a low wall he was perched upon during his initial visit to the jail.
 "There are lot's of people who have encounters. I don't encourage fear, though. I try to help people to understand what they are experiencing."
 It was not only murderers and thieves who were imprisoned in Bodmin Jail. A famous inmate was a renowned witch, Joan Wytte, know to locals as 'The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin'. She passed away while imprisoned in 1813 as a victim of bronchial pneumonia. Famed as a clairvoyant, people would persue her services as a seer, diviner and a healer. One of her healing practices entailed taking cloth strips from a sick person, tying the cloth to a tree or holy well and leaving them to disintegrate, believing the disease would do the same.
 Post-death, her skeleton was displayed at the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft. After examination it was discovered that she had a large tooth abscess that would explain her reputation for entering into aggressive brawls, which resulted ultimately in her incarceration.
 During 1998, Grayham King, owner of the museum, arranged the burial of Joan's remains in a peaceful wooded area in Boscastle. The inscription on her gravestone reads: "Joan Wytte. Born 1775. Died 1813 in Bodmin Jail. Buried 1998. No longer abused."
 Joan's tale is just one of many intriguing stories of Cornish witches that are on show within the biggest collection of Wicca artefacts in the world. The museum receives visitors the world over who are able to browse through over 2,000 artefacts that represent every British magical tradition from medieval angelic magic to modern day Wicca.

KerNow flat plans

Readership survey: Results

These are the results to my survey in totality. The comments I received were, for the most part, extremely positive as people agreed with my views about the magazine concepts. All of the people I asked to complete my survey were Cornish citizens who I believed were best qualified to dictate what visitors to our county will be interested in.