Shirley Baker, Hulme, 1965

Before searching for a photograph that I liked and that linked to the every day, the type of photograph I had in mind was one of people. This is because people are a very interesting subject as no two people are the same and it is interesting how different people react to different situations.

I chose this photograph because, like I wanted to find, its subject is people. I also like how the photo is of children, I like this because I find that children are more  interesting than someone of an older age, this is because their minds work differently and are very intriguing.

The photo shows five children outside, having fun as they all look happy. However, from looking at their clothes and their personal appearance, they look quite low class, they don't have much money. I find this picture interesting because it shows that you don't have to be rich or have everything to be happy, and also that maybe children don't understand or know how it feels to be better off so it doesn't really effect them or how they feel.

It links to my earlier work because, for the everyday assignment we were set where i took pictures of my living room, and both the pictures of my living room and this photograph, show gathering places for people, and their sanctuary, where they feel at home or a sense of safety and happiness.

Also, the Family photographs i took, consist mostly of my niece which relates to this photo because the main subject of this photo is children.

Shirley Baker was born in Kersal, North Salford, and moved to Manchester at the age of two, she studied pure photography at Manchester College of Technology ad later took other courses at London Regent Street Polytechnic and London College of Printing. Baker's photography cannote a 'bygone' era with a strong sense of community spirit. Baker began this work in the early sixties with a strong desire to photograph life on the street, however, this inspired her to a larger project. Baker felt that she had almost a compulsion to record "the face of a people at a time when their homes were being demolished and they were being uprooted due to a huge 'slum' clearance programme." The adults of the community wear a friendly expression but carry the burden of a time of immense change. The younger generation, however, are immune. "The children saw things differently," Shirley Baker Wrote, "for them it was a giant playground with untold treasure hidden amongst the junk and rubble."