Michael Hallett Analysis
Michael Hallet is an internationally published photographic historian, and at the age of 26, he became the youngest member of the National Council of the British Institute of Professional Photography. With many years of experience, Michael Hallet fell to frustration that led him to try to extend the boundaries of time and space in a single exposure. He named this imagery ‘photo construction’ which involves him taking photographs of the same area in different sections and overlapping the images to create a big picture of the scene.
This photo construction is of Tower Ballroom in Blackpool. At first glance, it is obvious that the image has been constructed from many photographs taken at slightly different angles. This gives the overall image a more three-dimensional feel to it. Towards the top of the image you can see the beautiful ceiling decorations that are a vibrant gold along with carefully fitted lights so that it does not ruin the ‘authentic’ feel. In the middle of the image you can see the upstairs seating filled with velvet red chairs and also parts of the lower seating. At the bottom, you can see both the lower seating and the stage, which is the same level as the flooring for the lower seats. Towards the right, you can see where the stage rises.
I was not able to find a specific meaning for this image. However, I think the meaning behind this image is to show the beauty of the inside of the theater in a way that portrays it’s magical quality that just one photograph would not capture. Another interpretation is that the whole image represents a memory that is disjointed. The ceiling and the dancers on stage showing the age of the hall; and the people sitting in the chairs acting as if they are watching their memory reenact before them.
I personally really like this style that Hallet uses to show an area he has photographed. It enables a more three-dimensional feel to it as if we are almost inside. The hall itself shows its grandness but yet seems to hold sentimental value to it which makes me prefer the whole image a lot more due to the fact of many people in the seats and decoration on the ceiling.
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