Here are my first attempts of combining my feminist and blonde stereotypes, I felt that these images would work well when combined because the different hair colours would make the split more obvious than other combinations of images. I also felt that these would work together because the blonde image features a blue background and a pink dress and the feminist image features a oink background and a blue jacket. A digitally combined these by using the quick selection selection tool and simply selected half of the corresponding image and layered it on top of the other. As you can see from the two potential images above, the image on the right worked better than the one of the left. Once the images were combined but not flattened into the same layer I altered the colour balance on the feminist side to try and make the skin tone match the other side so that the split was less jarring. I also moved the images as appropriate to make the hair lines meet as I it looked quite odd if they didn’t.

I also experimented with combining the photos in a more diptych fashion. I created this image by flipping the feminist horizontally creating a canvas in Photoshop that was long enough to take both images placed next to each other. I then selected the images in turn and placed them onto the same canvas. I then arranged them and cropped the as appropriate. Although I do like how this image looks I do think that the text that appears in the feminist image and on reflection it may have been a better idea to flip the blonde image instead.

I then experimented with combining physical prints of the the images in order to get the white ripped paper effect between the images. I actually found ripping the printed image quite tricky, I knew that I wasn’t going to get a perfectly straight line but I did find it challenging to control the direction of the tear. Despite the fact that the faces in the first manually combined image don’t match up exactly I feel that this one is the most successful. I want to experiment with these combined images further, perhaps with the addition of text.

Similar to the previous shoot, I used a tripod and took a selection of photographs to create HDR photographs. For these night photographs I needed to take extra care when taking photographs as I needed to take photographs with a longer exposure, some as long as 8 seconds long to fully capture as much light as possible. Similar to the previous photographs I kept all of these at the same 5×7 ratio. Unlike much of Todd Hido’s work, all of these photos are in landscape as I found worked better with the HDR and the composition. Hido often works with portraits to creates sense of isolation and keep a single house in the frame, but I think working in landscape creates a more cinematic effect. Similar to Hido’s work I only used the light that was available.

In the first one above there was a variety of different lighting, the largest being from the two windows to the left. I wanted to capture the green tones from the window and the green walls which evoked a fairly spooky undertone. In the second, I wanted to retake a photograph I had taken before, which was taken in overcast daylight, making the image flat and mundane, the cool, low lighting contrasted to the warm light in the foreground made added a compelling effect.

These two photographs were the most difficult to take with many of the photos being out of place, meaning the HDR could not work fully, this being said I am still really happy with the results. I liked the composition of the first with how depth was created with the light from the glass door in the foreground, this being the brightest part of the photograph made it the first thing the viewer will notice, secondly the light from the garage added depth in the mid ground and lastly the natural light created a silhouette of the trees in the background. In the second I also like the two different light sources. The contrast of colour such as the yellow with the blue adds and interesting effect.

The two photographs above are the most interesting from the selection as well are the best at evoking a Todd Hido style of narrative. Considering composition, the high angle enables only the house and sky to be in the frame, creating an isolated, dramatic effect. Using HDR gave the first image a really interesting texture on the wall. On both photographs, the warm light contrasted the cool blue tone from the sky. The most intriguing part about these images is the light coming from the windows. In the first, the TV light created a low, purple light which reminded me of cinematic, 70’s style light, this also evoked a sense of mystery. Again with the second image, I like how there is only one window light on, which adds contrast and mystery.

Considering the exam theme and my starting point, the natural aspect comes from the low lighting and how it changes the whole ambiance of the image and how this affects the narrative and how the viewer feels towards the photograph. This is then added with the man-made structures and street lights, creating a harsher more dynamic effect within the environment. The last four photographs were a direct response to Todd Hido’s work with the subject matter as well as use of available lighting.

Night photography using HDR is something I plan on exploring more thoroughly in my work as well as using the light available within a scene rather then adding my own light.

After taking the first set of images which features a very overcast time of day, I wanted to take more of the same area due to how flat and dull the images looked. My intentions for the first set of images was that I wanted to look at the clash between nature and people and the beauty that was evoked from this, but this was not effective in the first set of images which made them flat and similar to that of an informational or documentary style of image. I wanted to explore other times of day and its effects on the ambiance and the narrative of the environment. I knew that taking photographs such as this would be difficult with just a single exposure photograph. In our AS work we practiced photo-manipulation techniques such as HDR where we could combine photographs with different exposures to create a more vivid, compelling photograph.

I went back to where I had previously taken photographs. I used a tripod and took a selection of about 5 different exposure shots for each photograph. I picked features where the light created interesting reflections and shadows. All the photographs feature a 5×7 ratio and are all landscapes.

I was drawn to the scenery in the first photograph where there was a reflection of light off of the painted industrial box as well as the orange light that reflected in between the boats and cars onto the gravel. The second photographs were then because of the light that shone through the tunnel, I also liked the table featuring objects such as a mug and a walking stick, which I feels adds a sense of narrative and character to the photograph.

The above photograph was taken for the interesting texture from light was bounced off the wall, I also liked the contrast between the cool shadows and vivid yellow/orange light. I positioned the window central in the frame to make the viewer also focus on the light that reflects off of it, emphasizing its importance in the photograph.

In the above images, I wanted to look at the more subtle reflections such as from the window in the top right corner in the first photographs and the yellow light that bounces off the wall in the second photograph features centre. I also really liked the white walls and the blue tones in the shadows, this use of colours evokes a romantic effect.

I was really intrigued by the vivid yellow light streaming from the shed and how it reflected off the wall to the left, contrasting with the colors in the sky. I positioned the camera to the viewer could see the streaming light from the building as well as the tractor in the foreground. There is a huge sense of narrative evoked in this image such as how part of the building is left unseen, leaving a sense of mystery to the viewer, raising questions such as why it may be open or who is using it. This mix of natural and unnatural lighting shows the juxtaposition between natural and artificial.Other objects such as the tractor add a sense of mystery and story line to the image. Using HDR techniques to change this image enabled both the sky and light from the building to be seen evenly.

After experimenting with HDR I plan on using this for more of my photo shoots to enable a better more dynamic image. I also plan on exploring the romantic themes within ordinary and everyday subject matter.

In the above photographs the light and sun flared evoked a very atmospheric effect to very mundane subject matter, making them look compelling and scenic. I also experimented with black and white images which leaves more focus on the vivid textures created. This also reflects a more romantic style of photograph similar to that of Ansel Adams. I created a vivid, high contrast image by increasing the contrast and clarity levels whilst decreasing the highlights to create a more intense texture. This worked really well with areas where light reflected or bounced off surfaces such as through the grass in the first photograph and the white wall in the second.