Denton Season Opening Day

For the launch of my project I will be attending the season open day at Denton, taking place on Saturday 5th April 2014. I feel this will give me the perfect opportunity to get some really strong images for my project. Having conversed with Sandra at the club, I've been informed that there are lots of traditional rituals at the club on this day, the men's and women's captains arriving in very different fashions, in recent years there has been an arrival via fire engine, milk float and a wheel barrow! I'm very much looking forward to seeing what this year brings up.

The club will be very busy on this day and hosting various rounds of golf, men's, women's, juniors etc. I think this will be the best chance for me to start my shooting, whether they be test shots or I can get some images worthy of being my final pieces remains to be seen.

From the open day onwards, I will be in and around the club and course over the next two-three weeks shooting my images, I am aiming to have 20 single portraits to work with, with the intention of 10 final images.

Example Images

In this post I have included a couple of images that represent the kind of end result I am aiming for. This first image is probably the most significant to where I would like to go with my work, the composure of the model etc.

This final image is merely a reference image as to the kind of lighting and setup.

Getting The Go-Ahead!

So after meeting with Sandra at Denton Golf Club, I finally got the go ahead from the board to shoot my project at the club! Brilliant news to come home to. 

Now we need to formulate a plan that will work best for both parties and get stuck in on the practical side of things. 

She did mention about an open day event what is held at the club, coming up in the next few weeks which will give me a great opportunity to attend the club and shoot some images, some of which will put me in a great position to move this project forward.

Looking at Identity

Golfing identity comes down to clothing that appears on the courses, sometimes it's pretty amazing stuff that you see someone wearing, sometimes it's the stereotypical golfing attire, all of which is rather interesting! The images below show some of the attire mentioned in my previous post, this kind of stuff is probably seen more when there's a major, televised tournament, I doubt I'm going to come across anything of this sort at Denton, although it'd be amazing if I were to see it! 

(Both images sourced via Google Images)

The following piece of text taken from the British Golf Museum's website indicates more as to where the fashion has evolved from...

'In the 18th century, golfers wanted to stand out, both in society and on the course.  Many clubs required their members to wear formal red jackets.  Based on military jackets, they were essentially a uniform.  Golfers could be fined by their club if not properly dressed.  Today, red jackets are usually only worn for ceremonial occasions as a link to the past.

As golf became more popular, fashion was dictated by the player. 19th century club maker and green keeper professionals wore the caps, jackets and heavy boots of their working lives.  This distinguished them from their patrons, the gentlemen golfers.  Women golfers wore very restrictive clothing including corsets, ties and bonnets.  Their costume focused on style and respectability over comfort and practicality.

From the early 20th century through to the present day, golf wear has become much more casual, though some conventions remain.  Plus-fours became the iconic golfing item, for both royalty and the everyday golfer alike.  Women’s golf was revolutionised in 1933 when Gloria Minoprio caused controversy by becoming the first woman to wear trousers at a major championship.  Today, professionals use clothing to project both their personality and commercial brand to a global audience.  Some are famous, and others infamous, for their style of dress.'

http://www.britishgolfmuseum.co.uk/the-collections/fashioning-an-identity-the-role-clothing-plays-in-golf/

Bill Cunningham: New York

I bought this DVD a while back on the recommendation of a guest speaker who came into uni and held a lecture one day.

This feature is based around fashion and social identity, which is perfect to emphasise the point around clothing and stature that comes along in the golf scene.

Bill Cunningham is an 80 odd year old New York photographer who gets around the streets of New York on his bicycle. His sole aim is to find and photograph people who stand out in the fashion stakes, and he comes across some very 'out there' people!

I know golf sometimes throws up the weird and wonderful in terms of clothing and outfits, maybe more on major tournaments rather than my local golf club but the clothing is still something to behold.

Meeting at Denton

Just back from my meeting at Denton, safe to say all went very well and the project is looking very likely to be given the go ahead there next week.

The secretary, Sandra, was very nice and welcoming and was very enthusiastic about the project as a whole, always a good sign to get to a meeting and overhear them talking about the work in a positive manner!

So basically, the board meeting will be held on Tuesday of next week, the board members including the captains of the male and female team, who according to the Sandra will be on board with the project, which will set me in good stead for getting the work off the ground. She gave me an overview of how the club works, the busiest days, open days, days to avoid etc.

Having discussed the sub-project I have in mind, she said that the club will most definitely be on board for this, promotional work always sits well with people! Now it's just a case of waiting for the meeting to take place and getting the work started!

Arranging a meeting with Denton Golf Club

So having spent the majority of Monday discovering that there are quite a lot of golf clubs in a relatively short distance from my house and emailing them, I made a breakthrough with Denton.

Discussing my project via email and sending them over my flyer, we made arrangements for me to go and hold a meeting with the club secretary there on the following Friday. She explained that they will be holding a board meeting the following week and that if she had some detailed information, she could then put this forward to the board members and take it from there, exciting times!