Must-haves.

Must-haves (2011)
A series created as part of the Self-Led brief in the third year of BA (Hons) Photography at the University of Portsmouth. The project attempts to address the problems surrounding the acceptance of fashion consumerism and the absurd logic that is often used to justify purchases. These items of clothing go unworn at the back of wardrobes or at the bottom of draws.
Ruth Johnston; www.ruthjohnstonphotography.com
+44 (0) 7795465749
Flickr set

"It was in the sale and compared to the original price, it was a bargain. The hood broke quite soon after I bought it and I have been meaning to sew it back together, but I just haven't. It is so warm though and I can quite easily fix it so it's not really worth getting rid of it."

"These have been too big for me for a while and I don't ever wear them, but what if the chance to do some painting comes up?"

"My mum brought this back for me from Hong Kong. There is just something about it that I really hate. She never lets me get rid of anything though."

"I don't think you could just wear this. It's quite classy and feels like the kind of outfit that you need to wear to an event, to make an entrance. Unfortunately, I don't have anything special events to attend at the moment."

"This thing! I was doing some internet shopping and this jumpsuit was delivered by mistake. It was refunded and I was told to return it, but I didn't. I know that I am never going to wear it so I thought I could sell it, but I probably won't ever do that either."

"I dreamt about this dress for such a long time. My boyfriend bought it for me for our first anniversary. I love it, but I got paint on it. No one will notice it but I can't bring myself to wear it, because of what it means, I can't throw it away but I'm pretty sure I'm not going to do anything else with it."

© Ruth Johnston 2011.

Because everyone else seems to be doing it.

Oh, how I can't wait to get my replacement 18-105mm lens, it will make everything so much easier to have a mid-range lens again. This was taken on my phone and because my prints are big and I don't have very much floor space, the layout is pretty pants, but it doesn't matter, I'll put a great one of them up at the exhibition.

My next post will be of all the images, but anyway, tomorrow is the deadline for my last ever University project, crazy stuff. It feels like only yesterday that I was practically weeping as my Mum dropped me off in halls...

I'm not really sure what to do with myself, I mean there's still Viva to go, but I know the half-Chinese project practically inside out, I just need to rehearse.

Text and Display.

So all I have left to do is to write about how my work is going to be displayed and the advice that I was given regarding text panels. I'm a bit gutted that I only got the final advice about text 5 days before the deadline so I can't get the 'proper' ones done in time, but I think I've printed and mounted these ones well enough that it won't matter. I wouldn't say that they're perfect for the exhibition, which is why I've sent them off to be printed and mounted at The Print Space, but they're adequate for the project hand-in.

Example display

I'm preparing my work for my Viva, which means re-printing my text panels for the Half-Chinese project and trimming them down. I don't think I'll bother re-mounting the images as I'm not showing the A3 versions anyway, which is apparently bad of me but I don't think it makes much difference and the images are of higher quality when they're smaller because I messed up the way I edited and processed them.

In other news, Topshop are allowing me to return a bag without a receipt because it broke for no reason after only a week of me owning it. They are doing this because I tweeted about how ripped off I felt, I'm quite amazed that they got back to me, something like that would never have happened five years ago, technology is great. I'm a bit sad because I liked the bag and it's out of stock online and was the last one in the shop because of this I either get my money back or an exchange for another bag up to the same price. Despite their high prices, it is nice to know that Topshop place their customer service and satisfaction in high regard.

ALSO, I am in the process of helping establish a Portsmouth Student Union Media NUJ Chapel (that's going to be a long acronym). I'm quite looking forward to getting involved, I have also managed to possibly do a fashion photoshoot for the University newspaper.