My work experienceFrom Monday the 4th of February to Friday the 15th February except for the 6th of February which is the weekend I did work expierence on HMS Belfast and I also did one day at CWR [Churchill/Cabinet War Rooms] which are both branches of the IWM [Imperial War Museum].
I'm doing work experience at HMS Belfast and CWR because I'm really interested in the period of these two museum World War 2. I did originally apply at IWM Lambeth road but sadly they are closed for 6 months due to refurbishments but to be honest I'm glad that they are closed because I think I might of found it a bit boring there compared to HMS Belfast. Most of the photos are taken on my Samsung Galaxy. What I didOn HMS Belfast I have done a wide range of activities and all or most of them are shown in the slide show on the right.
Retail and Admissions [Shop, Handing out Audio Guides] Bright Work [Polishing breeches on the guns, Shells, Dials] Painting [Wall's] Graphs [Showing Temp. in certain area's] Anorma's [Coffee, Cordite smells] Learning [Helping students, finding information] Details:HMS BelfastStart: 10.00
Break Start: 12:00 Break End: 12:20 Lunch Start: 13:30 Lunch End: 14:30 Finish: 15:50 C.W.R Churchills War RoomStart: 10:00
Break Start: 11:00 Break End: 11:30 Lunch Start: 12:30 Lunch End: 13:30 Break Start: 14:30 Break End: 14:50 FinishL 15:30 |
Below is a video tour of HMS Belfast done by my employer Kevin Price.
Slide show of photos of my Work experienceUnderneath is my slideshow of photos which either I or one of my employers have taken.
I've focused on the following things. Getting there [Bus, Train, Thames clipper] Environment [Weather] Dress code [What I'm wearing] The museum [what is there] What I did [What I polished etc.] How I felt [Happy, tired] |
Patrick and My photo plan.
What is HMS Belfast?HMS Belfast is a Town Class light cruiser of the Royal Navy which was launched in 1938 it has had some outstanding history like when it was struck by a magnetic mine in 1939 to the Arctic convoys of 1943 to it's assistance on the Normandy landings of 1944, Korea in the 50's.
However its biggest moment of HMS Belfast was in the Battle of North Cape in 1943 when it and HMS Jamaica which was a modified town class cruiser sank the battlecruiser Schranhorst. This is the main reason why I chose my work experience there because it is very historical. In 1971 it became a museum then in 1978 Imperial war museum brought it and has owned it ever since. |
1. Launched
2. Magnetic mine damage 3,4. Arctic convoy duty 5. D-day 6. Korea 7. 1971 Coming to London 8,9,10,11,12 HMS Belfast's outstanding history. |
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My photo insirtion.My inspiration to take photos have come from Henri Cartier-Bresson a really famous photographer especially in Documentary photography. Henri documented how he got to work, through the streets. Henri also got some photos of his workplace.
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Favorite part of the museum.
Favorite part of the ship.Because I was doing my work experience in a museum I thought I should say what my favorite bit of the museum is.
My favorite bit of the Boiler room and Engine room on HMS Belfast I find it to be a very claustrophobic but the best place on the ship because just going down into the boiler room I just get staggered by everything in there like the dials, all the wheels, all the pipes, the gangways and especially how claustrophobic it is down there and I just ask questions like how could people stay down as a job which is why I found it very interesting. I also like the sounds in the Boiler room which gives a proper taste of being a sailor who serves in the boiler room for days and nights just by the sounds. Sounds are below. |
Below is a slideshow of the engine and boiler room the first two photos give a feeling of the claustrophobic environment down in the boiler room.
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Below are two videos off of my Vimeo account of the sounds in the Boiler room which is the main reason why it is my favorite place on the ship the sounds really do give a proper experience of being down in the Boiler room when I was polishing down in the Boiler room. I spent around 1 hour per day in the boiler room, either polishing or just relaxing.
Both of these videos were done during my lunch break.
Both of these videos were done during my lunch break.
HMS Belfast Boiler room 2 from Ben Peters on Vimeo. |
HMS Belfast boiler room from Ben Peters on Vimeo. |
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Favourite activityMy favourite activity was defiantly the bright work when I was polishing the breaches on the guns, all the shell's in the magazine and all the dials in the engine and the boiler room.
This was my favorite bit because I found it really interesting polishing the gun's and all the shells because whilst I was doing it I was being told about the history of the ship which I found very interesting. On the left is a slideshow of the day on where I was doing bright work it shows a picture of me in my uniform, a picture of me pretending to hold one of the shells and me lowering the gun. And also the picture of the funny sign which says "It is likely for gas to spread ... if this happens light a candle with a naked flame and walk around" |
Least favourite activityTo be honest my least favourite activity I think has got to be the painting because I think that it was denying me of doing something different on that day.
I also found the painting a bit boring because it was just so hard to do. What I had to do was to paint a wall in white which is shown on the right. The room is going to be an area for families to eat in, so I felt the need to do a good job, which is why I found it hard. |
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How I changed during my work experience
In my opinion I think the thing which has changed the most is defiantly my confidence to speak to other people and greet other people especially strangers.
This can be told by on the first day I was handing out audio guides I was really shy and I just sat back and watched but a week later even my employer has said this I was standing up, handing out audio guides with absolute confidence.
During my exit interview one of my employers said this as a joke.
"Chief [Kevin Price] you know what we should employ Ben to handout audio guides he has more confidence than everyone else who hands out audio guides and always said enjoy your visit".
This can be told by on the first day I was handing out audio guides I was really shy and I just sat back and watched but a week later even my employer has said this I was standing up, handing out audio guides with absolute confidence.
During my exit interview one of my employers said this as a joke.
"Chief [Kevin Price] you know what we should employ Ben to handout audio guides he has more confidence than everyone else who hands out audio guides and always said enjoy your visit".
Favorite photoOut of all the photos I took, this is my favourite photo. The reason why this is my favourite photo is because of the lighting of the image. I took this photo at around 5:30 after I took my mum on a free tour on my final day. The reason why I like the lighting is that the foreground is dark colour [shade], whereas the background [Tower Bridge] is cool colours, which I considered when taking this image. This photo gives me an impression of 'end of time' because I took this photo after I did my work experience [the end]. The darkness [HMS Belfast] is representing the past, where the bright background is representing the future [time to move on]. This impression is why I like this image the most.
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Photo I'm disappointed with.In my opinion this is the worst photo in the set. The main reason why is that this photo is out of focus. The reason why is that the photo was rushed. The reason why this photo was rushed is because I had to report to someones office quickly, but I wanted to get a photo of this officers suit.
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