Alexander Kennedy Miller

Now this hoarder is a bit different to the rest. instead of collecting the usual junk. this man collected car and automotive parts. this guy is my kind of hoarder.
when he and his wife had died the state took over the property in which he owned and surfaced a few gems.
it states that when the barns around the house were emptied they found-

All told, approximately 30 original Stutz motorcars, a Stanley Steamer, a 1926 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, several Franklins, a Volkswagen Karmann Ghia (which had somehow been placed in the loft of the main barn),  and assorted VW Beetles were discovered about the property. The main barn and the various sheds and shacks Miller had constructed over the years hid a fortune in antique vehicles and a huge number of spare parts Miller had purchased from the Stutz company when it went out of business.

Absolutely brilliant. the day that i can say i have a karmann ghia and a assortment of beetles instead of just my one will be the best day ever.

the one thing about having a hoard of cars obviously means that its worth a hell of a lot. and the hoarding of cars is actually a thing. my family know many people who have several cars that have been left in garages for years on end and never touched but they still buy more.

this guys story has fascinated me. when his whole estate was valued it was worth over 2 million. mad.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Kennedy_Miller

The Collyer Brothers

Now this is quite possibly the most interesting thing ever. well nearly. whilst i've been searching for statistics and other things relating to hoarding i came across a story about 2 brothers who lived in new york who have been labeled at the most infamous hoarders ever. they lived in a mansion in manhatten and when they both dies authorities had to remove around 140 tons of items from the house. they even used to booby trap the hall ways to deter intruders yet ironically it was one of the booby traps that actually killed one of the brothers, it is amazing.  when the house was emptied a human skeleton, a two headed baby in a jar and a horse jaw was found. a book has even been written all about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collyer_brothers

i know we aren't supposed to use Wikipedia but this does have the main facts and covers the main points of the story. Its fascinating to read. makes me glad that my mums mum is only a slight hoarder in comparison.



This image shows a section of the house with all of the stuff in it. At the time the house was hugely documented in the media so there are a lot of image all over the internet of the house and the people who had to clear it out.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/collyer-brothers-brownstone-gallery-1.1187698?pmSlide=20

the link above shows more photos of the house and the clearing of it.

Statistics.

i have researched into the statistics that relate to hoarding. only around 5% of the population are hoarders however considering the amount of stuff they have they take up far more space. And tend to spend a lot more.  this image gives more information and more statistics.




this is a very interesting image. it shows the statistics related to being a hoarder and other attributes related to it. i have been research into the hoarding to get more infomation about it. it also shows the personal problems relating to this. its surprising how true many of the statistics are.


another website based in the uk also has more information on the disorder.
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/compulsive-hoarding.html

on this website it states-

Compulsive hoarding is listed in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual-IV (DSM) as a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which is characterised by the overriding compulsion to acquire new possessions and store them in excessive and often dangerous quantities. 

Up to 3 million people are thought to suffer as hoarders in the UK¹.

Some compulsive hoarders collect anything and everything, some will collect only particular items, such as books (these people are known as bibliophiles) and some will even collect living creatures (known as animal hoarders). Any form of compulsive hoarding can seriously impair a person's physical and psychological health if left untreated. Support from a counsellor can help a hoarder to identify the underlying reasons for their hoarding and then learn how to control their compulsions.

Where does the compulsion to hoard come from? Some experts² believe hoarding is a survival instinct left over from when early man had to hunt and forage for himself. Observations show that many wild animals, including squirrels and birds, tend to hoard nuts, seeds and nest materials in time for the winter. Even domesticated animals like dogs and cats seem to hold onto this natural instinct despite having no need to hoard. For example, some dogs are known to build collections of balls or toys in their beds, or start burying objects in the garden. Similarly, cats have been known to build up rather macabre collections of dead animals that they bring into the house as 'presents' for their owners.

Hereditary

Some experts believe that compulsive hoarding runs in the family. One study³ showed that up to 85% of compulsive hoarders could identify a relative who had the same problem. 

This hereditary thing relates well to my own project as i can already see how the hoarding is continuing through the family. my mum and myself ollect and keep things. but not yet to the scale that my mums mum does. but it still shows that if we dont do something about it i too could end up in the same situation.

Why Climate Change

This photo story is based in Australia.

http://conorashleigh.com/#/australia/why-climate-change/climate_change_WEB-3

it is a series of portraits with peoples views on climate change. very simple idea but the wording i good and works well. the portraits are also very good.

definately worth checking out.

The Book

Now i'm having a real dilemma when it comes to physically making my book. i want it to be very creative and textured. but then i also wouldn't mind it looking very professional also. its a tough decision.

However on a plus side the front cover for my book has been designed. i want it to really contrast whats on the inside and to not tell you about it before its opened. That's why i've gone for a very plain and blank cover that will simply state the title.

The layout

Now after alot of re-jigging i think i have come up with a final layout design for my book. now i have decided that the images will only cover one side of the book leaving the reverse blank. this is because i think that the images work very well when they are all together so when the book is fully opened out the whole series should flow easily and look better. also this means that the viewer doesn't have to switch sides and get confused with what t read first. it makes it more simplistic but far more appropriate for my images.
so here is the proposed layout-



now the image isnt very big but it gives an idea of how it will look. there will be an extra white page at the end which will be the last page of the book but i couldn't get this to fit in on my screen.  the white blank spaces will have text though i am still trying to decide if some should be kept completely blank. however this can be decided further once the wording has been finalised and then i can work around how much there is and how much space is on the book.

the book size will be A5 landscape. so when the book it stretched out fully it will be fairly large however this size allows the photos to be of a suitable size and for the book to still be of a suitable size.

now for the images to be properly sized and printed.

THE EDIT

Now after days and days of intently looking at contact sheets, making mini edits, sticking pictures to my walls and scribbling all over my photos i have final made a final edit for my book. huzzah!

I am really please with my edit and feel it shows everything that i want it to in order to get the story and point across. i have included images of the house, my mums mum and her moving about the house. on their own the images do hint at the story however to make it stronger the wording will accompany the images and this will not only tell the story but give an insight into how my mums mum is and what her feelings are towards the hoard.

so here they are my intently considered edit...
now they are not in order at this point but are just to show the edit itself. the order and layout is still being adjusted so that i have the best possible design for my book.

 the above image i felt needed to be included, it cuts off part of her face and focuses on her looking at a piece of paper whilst being surrounded my junk. its a very powerful image and though her face isn't visible a sense of confusion is clear. this puts an emphasis her personal view on the house.

this image had to be included. it basically sums up the story and adds a more light hearted side to the story. this image has also helped me to develop a name for the book and it has given me a good starting point on which to work the other images around.

 now this image is one that i keep coming back to as the starting image for the book. its not shocking a such but it does boldly show exactly what the story is about and clearly shows the mess. most of the other images are slightly more subtle when showing the mess but i feel that this one is needed to just emphasise how bad it really is and by shooting into a door way showing the floor and where the window is the scale of it all becomes more apparent.

 this image is one that i think will work well as a closing image. the text on the mug is what made me choose it. the mug says ' keep calm and pray' this relates to both my mum and my mums mum and references to how we all feel about the house. my mum gets very agitated and worried about it and my mums mum is very religious so her answer is to just pray that everything will be ok. they are both looking at a photo and have a questioning look on their faces and it shows a small insight into how we feel and how tense being in the house can be.

i find this image very strong. it focuses on my mum, and by doing this it portrays the fact that it is up to her now. the focus is on her to get her mum to tidy the house she is the only one who can help her and she is the only one who can encourage any sort of improvement  this means there's alot of stress on my mums part becasue its a lot ot take on. and it if very difficult to cope with.  the image has my mums mum out of focus in the background tirying or at least moving things around which emphasizes the strain and pressure my mum has.

 this is an image of the lounge. it shows the clutter and the mess. the angle of the image portrays the scale of the room as well to allow the viewer to get a better understanding of how bad it is.the tones in the image make it very single coloured and dull.

 this image shows the upstairs back bedroom. the floor cant be seen and its full of rubbish. this image is included because it shows the mess and gets the point across. and in the layout it will be placed next to a closer up image to make the book flow a bit better. it is a strong image and adds to the story.

this image is simple and just a close up of some envelopes on the side. it has her name on it so it relates to her and the wording to go with the image will make it more interesting and powerful. my mums mum has lived in this house for over fifty years. shes written the same name and address for a very long time so it seemed important to include this in the book. it will show her relationship to the house and how the address is just whats written on the page. the house itself is far more than just her home. it was her husbands home and her children but it no longer reflects the happier times.

 this is also a strong image. the focus and angle of the image works very well and the image is fitting with the others in the set. the image shows a very large pair of glasses which obviously look very hard to loose and oddly enough with all the mess in the house she can always find this pair no matter what. however these are her house glasses. i think they may possibly be my mums dads glasses but she wears them when no ones around. even i have rarely seen her wear them. she doesn't like them.

this image just had to be included. the light across the wall and across the floor/junk is very strong and makes the image. the lighting shadows some of the junk and although its still visible it doesn't seem as bad. this reflects on how my mums mum see the house, she rarely opens the curtains and doesn't venture into half the rooms. everything is shut away in the dark so its out of sight out of mind.

 this image had to be included in the set because it shows her sorting through things in the lounge. i wanted to include a range of shots which show her sorting and tidying things to show that she is trying to clear the house. this also adds another side to the story because it shows that she is wanting to do something about it.

 This image was a crop from a larger image that i felt was too similar to the image below. by cropping out the top half of the image it has made the focus on her hands and her tidying. this puts an emphasis on her clearing the house and clearing it by herself.  the composition of the image works very well and it adds a different element to the set that is closer and more intimate. although the focus is on her hands she is surrounded by other distracting things that also add to the image even more and show how hard it is to focus on tidying one particular thing when there's so much around.

I particularly like this image because of the lighting. as with many of the images in this set it is the lighting that makes the image successful. the focus is on her and the image was taken in the kitchen. the kitchen is still cluttered but it is in a usable state so that means that when we go over we spend most of our time in the kitchen while she wanders off and brings us things from other rooms. rather than us going with her into the rooms she's rather go off and get it herself. so this image shows her getting something out of the bag to show us. the composition works very well with her being in the centre of the image so the focus stays on her. shes got one hand in the bag and is looking down at it which makes you question whats in the bag.

Now from these image i can start creating my layout and book design. the images have been edited slightly but they do still need t be adjusted further to make then look even better. especially because some still haven't got the right lighting and this needs to be adjusted slightly to remove the yellow tinge that is apparent throughout.

Once that has all been changed and decided upon i can get  the photos printed and begin constructing the book.