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DayFour issue 8 Ulysses II
Published 2010
Cover: Jesse Pollock
On June 16, 1904, the Irish author James Joyce went on his first date with Nora Barnacle, the woman with whom he would spend the rest of his life. That day is immortalized in Joyce's novel Ulysses, and it is commemorated every year by Joyce fans and scholars, who gather in Dublin to retrace the steps of the novel's hero, advertising salesman Leopold Bloom. The most basic description of the book is that it records an ordinary day in the life of an ordinary man. Joyce set down impressions, events, thoughts and conversations – trivial, meaningful, transcendental and obscure – and in the process created the modern novel.
On Saturday June 13 2004, a group of photographers around the world took part in DayFour's first Ulysses project. The brief was straightforward: to take one photograph every hour, on the hour, from the time you woke up till the time you fell asleep. It didn't matter where you were or what you were doing. What mattered was that everyone would be 'clicking' at the same moment. Five years later, we did it again, with many of the original participants again taking part and many new D4 contributors joining us. This issue is a record of Saturday June 19 2009: Ulysses Day II.
As a photography project, Ulysses had two, perhaps contradictory, goals. The first was to encourage honesty. The rules assumed you could not stage-manage your pictures. You had to work with whatever was in front of you, no matter what. It was about accepting the realities of your situation, and, perhaps, acquiring insights into it. The other aim was to wrest creativity out of uncontrollable circumstances. A great photographer sees what others do not notice. She or he can spy beauty or enchantment, or at least a worthwhile visual comment, in the most unpromising places.
Here we present a selection from the printed issue, which contains nearly six hundred images of boredom and exhilaration, loneliness and love, drunkenness and occasional zen beauty.
Contributors
© All photography and text in Dayfour is copyright the contributors. All rights reserved
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CHLOE AFTEL, LOS ANGELES
I spent the day trapped in my home office, so I had to wander to other people’s places to find something worth shooting. That was the real challenge for me: finding something worthwhile in the very ordinary
10am Running out to do errands and the sky was overcast, making the trees look like a silhouette rather than a 3-d object
midday Props from a day earlier. I was hoping a neighbourhood kid might want them
1pm Location scouting
9pm Out back, looking
Photographer Chloe Aftel splits her time between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her photography clients include Dazed & Confused and Flaunt magazine. Chloe enjoys shooting Polaroid film and is very excited about The Impossible Project. www.chloeaftel.com
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LUCAS ALLEN, MELBOURNE
The first time I shot Ulysses (in 2004) I was still living in Australia. By coincidence, I was there this time as well, visiting form New York and staying with my sister. We went to Ikea to do a bit of shopping, I went out for dinner with a friend and then to a vodka bar in St Kilda. The need to take a shot every hour on the hour took over and I really shot the first thing that caught my eye. It’s certainly not my best work, but I loved the experience of sensing time passing
9am: My neice, Hannah
4pm: After the storm has passed
9pm: Later at Mink Bar
11pm: Even later at Mink Bar
Australian-born Lucas Allen lives in New York and shoots for publications including Vogue Living and UK House & Garden. www.lucasallen.com
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DAVID AXELBANK, MADRID
I was in Madrid participating in the Descubrimientos PHE Madrid (Discovery Award) at Photo España. My work was included in the official programme and exhibition, plus I was taking part in a series of portfolio reviews
11am: With my mobile alerting me a minute before each hour, I am ready at 11:00 to photograph whatever or whoever is in front of me. On my way to the first portfolio review of the day I encounter this older gentleman. He doesn’t appear too happy to have a camera shoved in his face as he crosses my path
1pm: The man from Du. Lars Willumeit of Du Magazin reviews my work. A friendly and upbeat person, I really enjoy speaking to him. He also praises my work, noticing the high production level that I always strive to achieve. His is my last portfolio review, so my experience has ended on a high note
2pm: A small municipal park off Calle RamIrez de Prado. As I leave the Complejo El Aguila where the portfolio reviews are being held, I notice the tops of two slender trees. They catch my attention, resembling as they do two big green fingers stuck into an uninspired, municipal, Spanish-flavoured, planting arrangement. I always notice the texture and variation of gardens. It is one of the subjects I return to often
4pm: Back at the Hostel Martin in my uninspiring room, it is siesta time and I feel too lazy from the heat to photograph anything other than what is facing me: my closet
David Axelbank has worked at Magnum Photos New York and London. In 2009, his ‘Flora’ series was shortlisted for the Descubrimientos PHE Madrid (Discovery Award) at PhotoEspaña and included in the Creative Review Photography Annual 2009. He teaches photography at Photofusion in Brixton, is a Lecturer in Photography at the University of Hertfordshire, and a visiting lecturer at Anglia Ruskin. www.davidaxelbank.com
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LISA BARBER, LONDON
Studies in solitude
1pm: I love the colour of my new kitchen
3pm: Mmm, new shoes
7pm: I wonder if I can make a skirt from my curtains
10pm: Night night
Lisa Barber is originally from Australia, now based in London. She took part in Ulysses I with friends from the photography collective photodebut. Lisa is an award-winning food photographer who has shot several books with chefs including Gordon Ramsey. www.lisabarber.co.uk
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KWASI BOYD-BOULDIN, LOS ANGELES
I was shopping for a friend’s wedding gift, but other than that it was a pretty ordinary day. I roamed around Koreatown a bit and shot some images and then I went to run some errands
8am: I really like looking out of my kitchen window in the morning
11am: My very necessary daily dose of caffeine
midday: I shot this landscape in Koreatown. I thought the composition was interesting
7pm:
Grocery shopping
Kwasi Boyd-Bouldin is a photographer/ illustrator based in Los Angeles who focuses on documenting the urban environment. Kwasi says he ‘takes pictures of the mundanely insignificant and attempts to create meaningful compositions from them.' www.rebelsciences.com
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FELIX BRANDL, MUNICH
A classic summer Saturday: after waking my girlfriend, we went downtown for shopping at the Viktualienmarkt. In the afternoon we headed out of Munich to the countryside to visit some friends. That night I planned the climbing trip I was making a few days later to wintery Argentina and Chile
midday: White shirt
2pam: Drinking beer at the Viktualienmarkt
5pm: Horch at the Lech river
10pm: Looking out of my window
Felix Brandl studied photography in Munich, Germany, where he is currently based. He combines commercial work for magazines including German Vogue and GQ, with personal work. www.felix-brandl.de
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MATT CARR, BROOKLYN NY
Bagel breakfast and a day out at Coney Island. Uncooperative weather and Ukrainian lunch in Brighton Beach. Back to Windsor Terrace for homebrew with friends and Winnie the cat
midday: Random family at Coney Island
4pm: Flirting with Violet
6pm: Sal down at Laura's restaurant. Don't mention politics
10pm: Party winding down
Matt Carr claims to have lost control of his hair in the late 90s and knows he’d be a brilliant watercolour artist if only he could open the box of paints. The Indiana native spent ten years in Prague and London before heading to New York. He now lives in Brooklyn and loves it more than he likes to admit. Matt’s photography book, Black And White, was published in 2010. www.mattcarr.com
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DAYNA CLARK, CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND
As a part-time caterer for our family hog roast business, my Ulysses day was spent providing the main meal at a wedding in south Cambridge. Six hours spent waiting for the pig to roast, entertainment in the form of a nearby zoo was very welcome (and enjoyable)
9am: Post-shower
3pm: Prepping the pig for cooking
4pm: A trip to the zoo while our pig is cooking
11pm: Heading home a little greasy
Dayna Clark completed her photography degree at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in 2005, and has continued to work within the design and media field, including graphic design, web design and photography. She also runs an online vintage jewellery boutique. www.storiaphotography.co.uk
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ANDREW CLATWORTHY, WHITSTABLE, ENGLAND
A lovely summer's day spent at home by the sea in Kent
8am: I really must clean those windows
midday: Practice, practice, practice
6pm: It's the oven for you
9pm: Down to the beach for a sunset drink
Andrew Clatworthy says, ‘The first Ulysses day was spent travelling from Harlesden in London to Normandy in France, on holiday with my then-girlfriend, Sibyl. The second was a more typical Saturday at home. A few minor changes in the intervening years: my girlfriend became my wife, we moved to the coast, and we both changed career’. Andrew is an ex-photographer, prone to the occasional relapse.
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KATYA EDOKIMOVA, LONDON
On Ulysses day our son Lukyan was exactly two months old. The whole day revolved around our little celebration of one more step up and towards getting used to each other, and him becoming more of a human being and less of the ‘'alien-looking creature'’ he was on the day of his birth
11am: Trooping the Colours, the Queen's birthday
midday: Breakfast time
3pm: Our favourite 'pet', Mitsuoka, about to take us to central London
6pm: A reflection of the day's temperature
Katya Evdolimova was born in Russia and is based in the UK and Europe. Her photography has been published and exhibited around the world, most recently as part of the Royal Photographic Society 153rd Print Exhibition and Renaissance Photography Prize 2010. www.begemotfoto.com
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IAN FIDLER, LONDON
My wife Laura had a number of chores to do which left Sam and I to get the bikes out after his morning gymnastics lesson and explore the North London suburb of Barnet that we’d recently moved to
1pm: Sushi for lunch in the lounge
2pm: Ready for the afternoon bike ride.
6pm: Stopping off in Whetstone High Street
7pm: Laura tongue roll
Ian Fidler is a freelance IT trainer with a love of photography. He says, ‘[My wife] Laura and I have the adorable Sam in whom I hope to inspire a photographic eye. We live in north London with our burgeoning hard drives. Sam once again featured mightily in this second Ulysses project. He was four years old for the first Ulysses day, on which he seemed to be a very willing and playful subject. Five years on and he only barely tolerated me with the hourly stop/starts that punctuated the day.’
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AMELIE AND PHILLIP GINTHOER-WEINWURM, VIENNA
The perfect day for a summer wedding
8am: Bathroom
midday: Raining colours
4pm: Music about young and old men
6pm: Fat summer
Amelie and Philip Ginthoer-Weinwurm live and work in Vienna, Austria. Ulysses I coincided with their honeymoon in Italy. Ulysses II was spent at the wedding of some friends and with Philip and Amelie’s children, Filippa-Liora and Anselm, both born during the intervening five years. They say, ‘Synchronicity is a concept you are not able to escape from. So Ulysses day will stay everyday.’ www.weinwurm.eu
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FRED GIJBELS, KRAKOW
Business as usual
1pm: In the pub last night I saw a broadcast of TV station Al Jazeera indicating that Mousavi, the opposing candidate for the presidential elections in Iran, was victorious. The only problem was that I could not hear the sound and the subtitling was in Arabic. I was quite curious what was going on, so I turned on BBC World News. It seemed that the incumbent President Ahmadinejad had won the elections, which was quite unlikely to happen. Also for the BBC it was rather difficult to get a clear picture what was going on in Tehran. I was stuck for quite some time in front of the TV set
2pm: I was needed in our gallery, Olympia Galeria, a space for contemporary art. Olimpia had to collect her autistic son from school and bring him home. I had to play shop assistant for the potential clients, mostly foreigners.
6pm: Back home after a short diversion to Kolory to pick up Olimpia, meeting some friends, and drinking a glass of red wine. We went home early, because clouds were gathering and threatened heavy rain. Looking out of the window of the apartment you could see the darkness and ‘admire’ the skyline of Krakow, with its heavy pollution due to coal heating
10pm: Olimpia is not ready yet to go to the pub. She wants to finish the movie she is watching. I’m not watching because it is a Polish comedy by Stanislaw Bareja, not subtitled. Another reason why I sometimes don’t watch is when the movie is not subtitled but has a Lektor, monotonously doing the voiceover in Polish, which is utterly boring
Fred Gijbels was brought up in Amsterdam. He worked as an associate professor at Leiden University and in the Dutch Ministry of Finance. He now lives in Krakow, Poland, where he has exhibited his photography. www.gijbels.nl
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FIONA HAYES, MUNICH
Getting ready to move back to London after two and a half years living in Munich. Running house-moving errands while simultaneously trying to make the most of a last gloriously sunny weekend in Bavaria
9am: Cup of tea. I’ll miss this neat little kitchen when I move back to London next week
2pm: Late lunch at Cafe Altstadt, Schellingstrasse. I seem to have bartered my 20-something old books for five new ones... Hmm. Well, I guess it will reduce the packing a bit
4pm: The Feldherrnhalle and TheatinerkIrche
9pm: Back on my balcony. Sunset behind the Fernsehturm, with the Olympia Stadion to the left
Fiona Hayes is the founder, editor, art director and publisher of DayFour. She is currently based in Moscow, where her day job is Art Director of Russian Vogue. Fiona loves commissioning photographers and has no aspirations to become one.
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KELLY HILL, LONDON
My Ulysses morning was spent taking the kids to music and swimming lessons. We had to head to the Viewfinder Gallery in Greenwich in the afternoon and spent a couple of hours lazing in the sunshine outside the Maritime Museum. Back into town to see Adam’s group show at Southgate Studio and then on to Abeno, a Japanese Okonomiyaki restaurant near the British Museum. A regular Saturday in town spent with my partner and our children, a few good friends and perfect summer sunshine.
10am: Terror on the streets while walking to Kipfel In Smithfields for a good Austrian coffee
1pm: The Queen’s official Birthday fly-by salute at the Golden Lane Estate while waiting for Sol’s swimming lesson to conclude
5pm: Rushing for the tube – unaware of the matching vests until later
6pm: Remy as Cyberman at Adam Grey’s studio show on Southgate Road
Kelly Hill studied Theatre at Warwick University before working in London, India and Hong Kong on documentary film and art projects. After returning to London and producing two children she studied Photography at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Communication where she has just completed an MA . www.kellyhill.co.uk
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BETTINA KOLLER, PARIS
I spent Ulysses day with my man, Christian, visiting Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, France, and meeting some German friends for dinner in Paris
9am: Christian's apartment in Paris
6pm: Looking for the way back to Paris
7pm: Tarte aux cerises
9pm: Robert preparing a yummy créme brûlée instead of working on an architectural competition
Bettina Koller studied at the Staatliche Fachakademie fuer Fotodesign in Munich, Germany. Her work has been exhibited in Berlin, Munich and London, and published in magazines including Die Zeit and Neon. Bettina is based in Munich. www.bettinakoller.de
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GEOFF LANGAN, BRISTOL, ENGLAND
The morning I spent trying to realise my dream of being able to play the guitar. The afternoon I spent watching my daughter realise her dream of becoming a performer. The reality was in being with my family.
10am: M5 motorway
midday: Hibernia Centre, Bristol
4pm: Waiting for curtain up
9pm: Peig under the table
Geoff Langan, who shot the cover image for Ulysses I, says, ‘After a quarter of a century as a photographer, I decided to change. I retrained at university and now I am employed as a Counsellor in a Drug and Alcohol rehabilitation agency in Bristol. I specialise in working with people who have alcohol and gambling issues. These are the first photographs I have taken in almost three years. Leaving photography was a bitter breakup. Ulysses II brought back happy memories of times when creating a satisfying image was everything.'
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ANDREW MACPHERSON, LOS ANGELES
Some days are just less exciting than others
7am: I wander outside to see what I can shoot for my 7am picture. The sky is the usual June Gloom slate gray, the only splashes of color are the bougainvilleas
10am: Finally I leave the house to do some errands, the light rain streaking the windscreen as I back out of the driveway
3pm: Three o’clock sitting at the traffic lights on the way to the park
5pm: Coco proving that anything Claudia can do she can do better, at one of the spots YSL shot their most recent ad campaign in Griffith Park
Andrew Macpherson started his photographic career in a big photo production house in Fleet Street, London, making tea, sweeping floors and being the office dogsbody. He went on to gain experience as photographic assistant to many extraordinary photographers, including Horst and Lord Snowdon. At the age of 23 he was discovered by Amanda Harlech and shot his first fashion story with her for Harper’s in London. Vogue commissioned him to shoot for them, in London, Paris, and Milan. After this, Andrew says, the big advertisers came onboard, with international campaigns. It was around this time that Andrew first discovered and fell in love with California. As a result he began to focus his energy on the entertainment industry, and finally moved to the west coast in 1994. Almost twenty years later he spends most of the year working in Los Angeles, photographing the stars of stage, screen and TV. www.macfly.com
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SCOTT MOULES, SAN FRANCISCO
Felt a bit under the weather. Very tired, run down. Errands to run and naps to take. Cold medicine fogged my head and ultimately kept me very close to home
8am: Coffee brewing and hybrid dahlias are blooming in the garden
midday: Breakfast at Golden Coffee, our favorite greasy spoon
1pm: Dropping Angelo off at work
11pm: Home, finally, time for Manhattans!
Scott Moules is a graphic designer and photographer living in San Francisco. Shooting Ulysses II he says, ‘I felt a bit under the weather, very tired, rundown. Perhaps it was the cold, the medicine, the annoyingly bright sunshine with the tediousness of the sniffles, but I felt a bit more hazy in the head and a bit more of a slave to the alarm I set on my phone. It seemed like the alarm was always ringing. I’d close my eyes for a nap, alarm! I’d be cooking soup, alarm! Unlocking the door, alarm! Sometimes I even mistakenly grabbed for the camera when the phone rang, confusing the Marimba alarm sound with the Xylophone ring tone. It was a day that seemed kookier than usual and made me laugh a bit more.’
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MERLE MOUSTAFA, SUSSEX, ENGLAND
A day spent with friends in east Sussex
11am: Lewes carnival
midday: My husband Lee, our friend Yoko, and I have decided it’s the perfect day for picking elderflowers for cordial making later. Yoko is cutting the best flowers here
5pm: Lee loves cricket so we end up watching a local match. At 5pm we're still here. I’m a bit fed up of cricket so take a photo of the old fashioned scoreboard. Yoko and myself are going to try and move Lee away from the cricket match now
10pm: Yoko and Ed on the beach, no luck with the mackerel fishing this evening
Merle Moustafa has been a professional photographer for fourteen years, working in beauty, reportage and portraiture. Merle says, ‘There are a lot of similarities to Ulysses the first time round – those Old English rustic events still seem to appear, but there are many differences too. Between Ulysses I and Ulysses II I moved back from Spain to the lovely countryside of east Sussex, got married and am about to have my first child. I appreciate the simple pleasures in life, growing my own food, spending time outdoors with friends and enjoying the community spirit of a small town. I enjoy taking photographs for the sake of it, not just for the work'. www.merlemoustafa.com
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RICHARD O'HAGAN, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND
Ulysses day saw us being visited by our friend Muna. We spent the morning shopping for food before collecting Muna from the station just before midday. I went off to play cricket for my club side, Penn & Tylers Green CC, whilst Will and Caro, my wife, entertained Muna. We then all met up again for a barbeque in the evening, prior to Muna going home and Will falling asleep.
8am: Will has breakfast
1pm: Penn and Tylers Green CC
5pm: Jeff Morris collects the match fees
8pm: Will enjoys the umpteenth sausage of the evening
Richard O'Hagan is a solicitor and writer. He combines being Head of Litigation at a law firm, with a regular column on politics and law for the Daily Mail. He also writes on cricket for Cricket With Balls and Cricket Sadist, American football for The Bleacher Report and theatre for Broadway World. He is an occasional contributor to the rugby website, Blood And Mud. Richard says, ‘Ulysses Day II was very different from the first one. On the first day, I was travelling to Italy for a wedding with my wife. Ulysses Day II was spent with a different wife (who I hadn’t met at the time of Day I), a son who wasn’t born then, a friend I didn’t know then and in a different town. Day II was actually more chaotic and more challenging to photograph than Day I. I look forward to Day III.’
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WILL O'HAGAN, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND
Busy, busy, busy...
10am: This is what Daddy looks like from a shopping trolley
2pm: Nap time
5pm: At Daddy's cricket club
8pm: All those sausages are for me
Will O'Hagan was born in 2007 and was aged 21 months at the time of Ulysses day. He lives in High Wycombe with his friends Jeremy, Humphrey and Wyvale. His interests include most sports, the books of Roger Hargreaves and the art of Axel Scheffler. This is his first foray into photojournalism. Will says, ‘When was 2004? Had cameras been invented then?’
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SAM PELLY, KENT, ENGLAND
Ulysses day was spent at my old family home with my stepdaughter and girlfriend, my mother and father. We were woken by my dog who brought in a dead rabbit, much to Melocina’s fascination. It was a lazy, hazy peaceful day, away from the pace and pressure of London
9am: Susie waking up
midday: Melo with dove
2pm: Susie eating an apple
7pm: Political tea party at Mum and Dad's
Sam Pelly has been working as a photographer for ten years, specialising in portraiture and fine art commissions. Sam says, ‘I have exhibited my fine art work regularly and have the luxury of photographing between my studios in Notting Hill and Dorset. Having recently become a dad, the countryside offers the perfect place to raise my beautiful family but I don’t think I will ever tire of London. My little girls are my muses; they love the lens. Long may it last.’ www.sampelly.com
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JESSE POLLOCK, ARIZONA
Took a ride out to a small unnamed part of Arizona near Chloride and Kingman for some target practice and hot desert air. The area was rife with old mining caves to explore and dirt trails to ride on, which we took full advantage of. The day was going pretty good until I took some pills and rode my quad into a ravine, hitting my head on a rock in the process...
9am: In the car
10am: Bridge
5pm: Boots
10pm: Mud
Originally from Boston, Jesse Pollock runs the website Unpiano.com from the San Francisco bay area which has been his home for the last ten years. He also works as a freelance photographer and web designer, consults for local arts organisations, and recently launched the publishing house Unpiano Books which focuses on limited edition releases from local artists. www.unpiano.com
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HEATHER RICHARDSON, LONDON
Ulysses fell on a day when my daughter Lily was with her father, so we had to arrange to meet so I could take a picture of her to include in my day. It was a low-key day, lunch with old and very dear friends and an evening alone with my book. I struggled to find things to photograph (as I think is pretty obvious)
10am: A quick meeting with my lovely Lily for a photo in London Fields. Like last Ulysses day, she was with her father this time
1pm: My meals are improving, aesthetically
2pm: Darling Lainey
10pm: Bed and a book – another crazy Saturday night
Heather Richardson says, ‘At the time of the first Ulysses, I had not long returned to work after maternity leave. That was a tough transition to make and I think Lily survived it better than I did. Between Ulysses I and Ulysses II Lily changed from a toddler into a little girl, the little girl who is my world. I learnt to be a working single parent, and eventually made the not-entirely-novel realisation that life is too long to be spent doing things that make us unhappy. By Ulysses II, I knew I was a fortnight away from handing in my notice on a well-paid but soul-destroying job. If there’s any camera shake, well, it was a nerve-wracking time! So I quit, and moved out of London to study for an MSc. As Gandhi said, you have to be the change you wish to see in the world.’
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BEN ROBERTS, YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND
I spent the day in the north of England near York. I was with one friend, Hin Chua, visiting another friend, Clive. We went for a walk in the countryside in the morning. Hin was trying to find some photographs for his project ‘After The Fall’. Clive and I were trying to avoid the stinging nettles. We had a pub lunch, a snooze, then walked into York centre and joined the crowds who had swarmed into the pubs after the horse races. We met a few other friends and stayed out longer than anticipated. A real English day out. .
11am: Clive soaking in the fabulous English countryside in his shorts
7pm: The Maltings Pub – purchasing good honest ale
9pm: Hulk Hogan on Micklegate
midnight: Late night in a bar in York. I don’t know the name of this establishment!
Ben Roberts is a photographer and educator based in Bournemouth, England. He was named one of PDN’s 30 New and Emerging Photographers To Watch in 2010, and in 2009 won the British Journal of Photography’s Project Assistance Award. He is currently obsessed with running and cycling. www.benrobertsphotography.com
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SADIA, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
I remember waking up, disappointed that I had not slept well and thinking that this was not how I wanted Ulysses Day to begin. The day turned out to be surprisingly busy, preparing to leave for Australia for (what was then) my upcoming artists’ residency. A small printing crisis, pottering around, and later attending a local music festival with friends, on what turned out to be a glorious Wiltshire evening. Sitting around in farmer’s fields proved to be too much in the end, as the evening ended with a cup of tea, and my asthma inhaler.
8am: After a sleepless night
11am: Coffee at the local farm shop cafe with Stephen
2pm: Looking at a friend's website
9pm: At the music festival
Sadia is an artist currently working with both still and moving images. She says, ‘I’m struck by how much, and how little, has changed in the intervening years since the first Ulysses. Like last time, the day seemed to be dominated by one big project, and I guess that’s the pattern of my life. Moving from one big project to the next, with recharging periods in between. This day certainly seemed more relaxed and social, although I still got quite a lot done. I suppose that’s the difference between living in Fulham and living in Wiltshire. Even though I’ve moved, I can see that I live in the bubble that’s the space inside my head, so my insides are reflected in my outsides, wherever I may be. One of the things that participating in the two Ulysses projects has made me realise is how I measure time, which would appear to be in creative projects. I say “that was the year we had the opening” or “that was the year I directed that film”. Like the time in between doesn’t exist at all, and the only time I am truly living is when I am engaged with my work at full capacity. It’s like, if I don’t have something to show, then the time hasn’t really existed for me, as if life was a half-dream from which I only fully awake when I create.' www.chimera-arts.com
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MARCO SIMOLA, LIMA, PERU
A Kermesse, a Cosmopolitan, and a crowd waiting for David Coulthard
2pm: Chairs at the Markham Kermesse
4pm: Waiting for Scottish Formula One driver David Coulthard
6pm: Saga Falabella, a big Chilean chain store. This was the San Isidro branch
9pm: Entrecopas Bar, El Polo Avenue
Marco Simola is a freelance photographer born in Italy and currently based in Lima, Peru. His work has been published and exhibited in South America and Europe. www.marcosimola.jimdo.com
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Merle CAITLIN SMAIL, LONDON
Shopping at the farmers’ market, drinks with friends and eating cherries in the garden. A very ordinary Saturday in a very ordinary west London suburb
9am: Am staying with my boyfriend, Mark, at his flat in Acton. Wake up in the bedroom to sun pouring through the slatted blinds
3pm: Reflection of myself in Mark’s sunglasses. We are sunbathing in the garden and enjoying reading on the deck chairs
4pm: We have been eating cherries from the farmers market all afternoon
6pm: Mark’s dad drops by to have his beard trimmed (Mark is a dab hand with the strimmer)
Caitlin Smail is a former art director and a practising artist, with an MA in Art Therapy. She says, ‘A lot has changed in my life since Ulysses 2004. The last project took place on the day my husband moved out of the family home. It was also the day of my degree show at Central St Martins School of Art. Now I am living in a new house and have anew(ish) boyfriend. I have given up working in publishing and I am a student again. I also have a new camera and am finding I am taking more photos than ever and using them as part of my art therapy work. My current project centres on art as a therapeutic outlet for traumatic and repressed memories of events and situations, using old photos as well as new to explore our changing perspectives of the past.’ Caitlin lives in north London with her daughter. www.caitlinsmail.net
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ALEXANDRA SMART, NEWPORT, WALES
I had recently graduated with a degree in Documentary Photography from the University of Wales, Newport. My day was spent sorting things and getting cleaning stuff ready to clean the house, before moving out at the end of term
9am: Having breakfast with Matt in the cafe around the corner form where I was living
4pm: Ice lolly in the garden
7pm: Creature comforts
midnight: Watching Maybe Baby in the tent
Alexandra Smart graduated from the University of Wales, Newport, in 2009 with a degree in Documentary Photography. She relocated to London to work as a freelance photographer, basing her work in the NGO/charitable sector. At sixteen, she was the youngest contributor to the first Ulysses, back in 2004. ‘Since the first Ulysses I have finished school and my degree, so in a progressive sense things have begun and chapters have finished. Ulysses II proved more interesting perhaps than the last one, as this time I wasn’t revising for a looming exam. It was the last few weeks I had left in our shared student house, so it was nice to spend time having fun and relaxing with my housemate. I really feel Ulysses’ strong points as an assignment are the structure and discipline it gives to the photographic medium. So much so that this inspired a personal project I have recently completed, where I took one photo every day for 40 days. Ulysses really highlighted the idea of “raw” documentation and the universal openness of that, and that’s what I really enjoyed bringing into both the DayFour projects and then into my own work’. www.alexandrasmart.com
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BOB SMITH, BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND
I spent Ulysses day with my mum. It was shortly after she had heard that her eyesight would deteriorate quite quickly, and she was already beginning to experience blurred vision. Of course this was very much on my mind as I recorded our day
10am: At the window
2pm: Taking aim
5pm: Refreshments
7pm: The boss
Bob Smith photographed Ulysses I with his family in Brighton. He says, ‘I’m now living on a canal boat in Bedfordshire and hanging out with my very big kids in Brighton, photographing as ever. Ulysses day 2009 was spent with my mum. Big life changes since 2004: everything is new, including brain!’ www.bobbysmithphotographer.com
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Petek MING TANG-EVANS, DRIVING THROUGH FRANCE
Ulysses II began on the outskirts of Caen, an overnight stop on our drive from London to Carnac, southern Brittany, for a summer holiday
11am: We’re finally on the road and heading south
2pm: Stopped at a cafe for lunch. As we leave, we ask the owner for the nearest garage. We’re desperate for petrol as we’d been running on empty for a while
6pm: After so long driving in the car, this is more like a holiday. Finally catching some rays and relaxing on the beach at Carnac Plage
9pm: Unfortunately, although we’re starving hungry, we get waylaid by the funfair on the way to dinner
Ming Tang-Evans is a London-based lifestyle photographer who covers a diverse range of subjects spanning food, interiors and travel, for clients including The Sunday Times and Condé Nast Traveller. He says, ‘Ulysses ’09 began on the outskirts of Caen, an overnight stop on our drive from London to Carnac, southern Brittany, for a summer holiday. The first frame of the day emphasised just how much had changed since Ulysses ’04. Five years previously I had awoken on my fortieth birthday with my partner, Julie lying beside me, six months pregnant, and a ‘‘celebration’’ barbecue ahead. Now we were in a family hotel room with our daughter, Evie, on the way to holiday with Julie’s family – in total nine people spanning three generations aged from four to 89 years. As the day closed, the last frame highlighted the enduring legacy of family. In the last five years, while I had lost a father, we’d gained the child we thought we might never have.’ www.mingtangevans.com
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STEPHEN W TAYLER, WILTSHIRE, ENGLAND
The beautiful, peaceful morning inspires me to mow the lawn, and shatter everyone’s tranquility. A typical day in which domestic chores intermingle with creative tasks, brainstorming and setups. A wonderful evening spent at an intimate private mini-festival with great friends
10am: Mowing the lawn
5pm: Me shooting Sadia shooting me
10pm: Getting dark
midnight: Signing off
Stephen W Tayler, having worked as a musician, composer, sound engineer, record producer and sound designer, now simply refers to himself as a sound artist. His collaborative works cross over into the world of film, video art and visualization. Stephen says, ‘Between Ulysses I and Ulysses II the biggest change in my life has been that of moving from the city to the country. The similarities are many: I spent the day with Sadia, went for coffee, fetched groceries, pottered in the kitchen, interfaced with my computers, and solved a problem. So much has happened in the five years, a complete upheaval of home and personal life, and a lot of travelling – Australia, Cambodia, India, Italy. My projects have expanded from purely sound and music into the visual world.’ www.chimera-arts.com
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LAMB TAYLOR, PARIS
From Père Lachaise to the Pont Neuf, a day exploring the pleasures of Paris
11am: Why are New Zealand always playing when we shoot the Ulysses project? Great French victory inspired by attractive supporters no doubt
6pm: Berthillion ice cream break
7pm: Eco transport of the future
midnight: The Pont Neuf
Lamb Taylor is a fashion and beauty photographer, who spent Ulysses I at home in Paris with French girlfriend Brigitte, watching New Zealand play rugby and taking in a salsa concert. Ulysses II was spent at home in Paris with Brazilian girlfriend Claudia, watching New Zealand play rugby and taking in an Almodovar movie. For Ulysses III, Lamb expects to be living in Brazil, and very possibly watching New Zealand play rugby. lambtaylor.com at www.rachaelsmith.net
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JAN VON HOLLEBEN, BERLIN
I spent my second Ulysses day in the beautiful and historical countryside a bit outside and west of Berlin in Havelland. Short-noticed and uninvited, my dear friend Gabi asked me to join her at a family gathering at her aunt’s classic mansion. I crashed the gates with a mission of making this day very special, posh and photographic
11am: Taking a shower
midday: Arriving at my friend Steffen’s for breakfast in his freshly refurbished flat
5pm: Taking a shift in making cappuccinos and waffles with strawberries and cream or optional vanilla ice cream for the 300 posh guests of that day
10pm: On my tour through the castle
Jan Von Holleben is an award-winning photographer, based in Berlin, who ‘lives, loves and celebrates photography. For the first Ulysses day, in 2004, I was still heavily involved in photodebut, a photographic collective, with whom I had spent that day in the southern English countryside. Five years later I have moved on, focusing on my personal journey through culture and image making. While the initial Ulysses day was defining its images by chance and circumstances (I just snapped what was around me), I spent the second day in 2009 coordinating my images according to a concept and structuring them with things I was surrounded by.’ www.janvonholleben.com
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SARAH WARD, SUSSEX, ENGLAND
We hired a car and travelled out of London to the middle of Sussex to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday. We then went to visit friends in the same town and on to Buckinghamshire to see other friends who had recently escaped to the country
midday: My father-in-law is 88 today
3pm: Spiderchild returns! Sam and Arianne at home
4pm: Green tunnels in Sussex
11pm: The end of the evening
Sarah Ward is a picture publicist at BBC Worldwide in London. Sarah says, ‘Ulysses day this time around turned out to be quite an unusual Saturday. We hired a car and travelled to the middle of Sussex to celebrate my father-in-law’s 88th birthday. At first I was concerned about creating interesting images from quite domestic activities but I soon found quirky objects and sights, hidden in corners, on walls and on pub tables! As happened five years ago, the day ended in a bar where my timing and photography skills rather deteriorated…’ www.fivelightsdown.com
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JEREMY WEBB, LONDON
My original plan to go and see a few exhibitions in the Big Smoke that Saturday was shot to pieces. I ended up on a hired bike in green body paint cycling stark naked past the Houses of Parliament with several hundred other naked cyclists. The route which took me from that original, sane plan to that insane and (as it turned out) completely euphoric experience, of taking part in the London Naked Bike Ride, is too convoluted to explain. But it had a lot to do with some dumb and distant memory of a film in which Jim Carrey forces himself to say ‘Yes’ to everything, and the chance meeting of a guy near Hyde Park with bikes for hire. This was a day when abject personal terror turned into the warm glow of a shared human experience in front of cheering crowds on a sunny Saturday in the heart of a thriving city. Everyone I met entered into the spirit of the event, and left me with some unforgettable memories. Not exactly what I’d call a routine Saturday.
9am: Thorpe Station, Norwich
2pm: Skate jumper, Hyde Park
4pm: Onlookers near Trafalgar Square
5pm: The World Naked Bike Ride, the finish at Achilles Arch
Jeremy Webb is a photographer, author and tutor with over 25 years’ experience, based in Norwich, England. He has recently returned to landscape, still life and documentary work and his ‘light painting’ has been featured in the British Journal of Photography. Millennium Images represent much of his landscape work. Jeremy’s second book, Design Principles (AVA Publishing)was published in autumn 2010. www.jeremywebbphotography.com
