Abstraction in nature images
NYC Urban landscape/Topographic/Abstract shoot
When I took this photo I didn’t expect America would in the state it is now. With the corrupt in power America has become a divided nation. I think this represents that. The way the flag has a clear crease through the middle shows a divide representing the divide America is facing at this time. I have also edited the saturation of the picture to make it dimmer this represents the dark times America are going though. I also think the flag in the foreground juxtaposes to the picture in the background. In the background is just a part of the New York City skyline. This includes the World Trade Center, this is where the Twin Towers used to stand. The tragedy that involved those towers was horrific however America was united trying to help one other, although it was this terrible thing America couldn’t have been anymore united. This is a complete contrast to what we see today with the country divided due the President elect and I think the flag represents that.
For these two pictures I really wanted to show the towering nature of these buildings and how these buildings almost look like they looking down on you. I also wanted to show some of the beautiful designs of these builds whether is be clear reflective glass reflecting the dramatic clouds or building at the bottom with the perfect straight lines leading to the top of the building.
In these pictures I wanted to show the beautiful symmetry of the buildings and streets of the city. In the top picture I wanted to show off the busyness of New York with the traffic moving in the foreground. People move constantly in this city yet these massive buildings stay the same, still, constant, always there for the people to move around. To try and convey this message I even took the picture slightly tilted. The bottom picture I wanted to show the opposite of how this city can also be quite calm and tranquil however still showing symmetry. In this picture there is no sense of rush everyone is calm in the photo even the Ambulance is waiting in traffic. The beauty is also shown with the green trees leading down the street as well as the road lines leading down the street.
In this photo I wanted to show a version of my topographies. In this picture I liked the color of poster against the dull grimy wall.
In this photo I wanted to show the vast landscape of the city showing that it goes on for miles. I chose to put in Black and White as it clearly shows these defined buildings going on for miles and miles.
Formalism
Abstract Panoramics
Here I took a panoramic shoot that I wanted this time to focus on how the landscape of the Earth is perceived as abstract through its shapes of rocks, trees, and various other objects. I believe I have captured the landscape as abstract also because almost in many cases the scenery seems like an illusion in the sense the surrounding edges of a photograph appear as part of looking forward in the photograph despite being at an angle when I took the photographs. This is abstract because it displays the landscape as well as the objects in the land being abstract. In my photographs I have portrayed this as the land being free to develop and move how it wants, but I have contrasted this with man made features being abstract. This split differences allows us to compare natural and man made features of abstraction in the landscape. I enhanced the contrast to help us distinguish the brighter and darker elements and to help separate certain features of the landscape to the others around it. Though this sense of abstract patterns in the way the Earth is developed and of how for example 2 juxtaposing pathways that are opposite, the fact they appear as part of 2 parallel paths diverging off into their own way and the fact the lake appears very much part of a loop rather than a lake with boundaries appears very surreal. This is because it creates a slight element of surprise and abnormality that is unseen before in the natural eye. I did this to link back further with this idea of how the land is free to create it’s own textures and patterns.
Photoshoot 2 Plan // Night Photography // Final Piece
AS Photography Exam Title Guidance : “Structure”
AS Photog Exam: w/c Monday 24th April
- Groups C & D: Monday 24th & Thursday 27th April
- (Wednesday NO EXAM)
- Groups A & E: Tuesday 25th & Friday 28th April
Read this carefully and think how you can design a thorough unit of investigation that explores your chosen theme, topic or subject matter…
structure
ˈstrʌktʃə/
noun
-
1.the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex.“the two sentences have equivalent structures”
synonyms: construction, form, formation, shape, composition, fabric, anatomy, make-up, constitution; More
verb
-
1.construct or arrange according to a plan; give a pattern or organization to.“services must be structured so as to avoid pitfalls”
<<<CHOOSE 1 STARTING POINT ONLY>>>
Use mindmaps and moodboards to start…
You should aim to complete at least 1 Photo-shoot per week
Structure
- Erin O’Keefe often photographs objects propped up in a corner. Her work explores the visual ambiguities of shadow, space, shape, colour and reflection. Originally an architect, her photographs are of real structures without using digital manipulation such as Photoshop. Many other photographers have experimented with constructed spaces and reflections, such as Florence Henri, Robert Smithson, Owen Kydd, David Haxton, Thomas Demand, Paul Strand etc
Florence Henri
Composition Nature Morte, 1929
photograph
2. Robert Frank shocked his adopted country when he published his groundbreaking book The Americans in 1957. Rather than seeing the cosy Middle America personified in later TV cartoons like The Flintstones, he revealed the raw push and shove of a society that was at odds with itself. Other photographers such as Nan Goldin, Jeff Wall, Chris Killip and Sophie Calle have also been compelled to expose the real structures in society and ‘Tell it like it is’.
Robert Frank
Canal Street – New Orleans, 1955
photograph
3. Stories can be told in a single frame, three frames, or, as in films, millions of frames. Narrative structures can be linear, such as with Duane Michals’ sequences, or non-linear such as Paul Graham’s A Shimmer of Possibility and Wolfgang Tillmans’ If One Thing Matters, Everything Matters. Photographers, filmmakers and animators find unique ways to structure the narratives in their work.
Duane Michals
Alice’s Mirror
photograph
Bill Owens
Untitled from ‘Suburbia’
photograph
4. Photographers have been fascinated by the structure of natural forms from the earliest days of the medium. Karl Blossfeldt found a monumental presence in simple seedheads. Edward Weston revealed beauty in the forms of peppers and shells. Robert
Mapplethorpe, Ori Gersht, Todd McClelland and Olivia Parker have also focused on natural forms in different ways, demonstrating personal responses to light and texture.
RM
Honesty
photograph
Here are some other suggestions that may stimulate your imagination / Starting points for photo-assignments
• Pine cones, pineapples, grapevines, hops, ivy, bindweed
• Scrapyards, building sites, cranes, restoration yards, derelict ruins
• Crystals, molecules, geology, fossils, footprints, tracks
• Stadiums, orchestras, rock concerts, floodlights, staircases
• Motorways, railways, runways, dockyards
• Flowers, plants, trees, fungi, algae, feathers, scales, shells
• Nests of weaver birds, wasps and bees, termite mounds, baskets
• Circuit boards, pipework, telephone poles, towers, pylons, skyscrapers
• Shop displays, escalators, bars, libraries, theatres and cinemas
• Gardens, parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, beaches
• Dolls, mannequins, puppets, cuddly toys, Lego
Assessment Objectives
You should provide evidence that fulfils the four Assessment Objectives:
AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding
AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops
AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress
AO4 Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
Your preparatory studies should show evidence of:
• your development and control of visual literacy and the formal elements (tone,
texture, colour, line, form and structure)
• an exploration of techniques and media
• investigations showing engagement with appropriate primary and
secondary sources
• the development of your thoughts, decisions and ideas based on the theme
• critical review and reflection
Good luck and make sure you ask for guidance at any stage of the process…remember to play to your strengths and approach this unit in a similar way to your coursework units !!!
Abstract Dispersions
Here I simply did a dispersion effect to create an effect making these photograph appear somewhat disintegrating into the air. Firstly I copied my planet like circle which I cut out onto a new white layer. I then duplicated this layer. With the original layer I clicked on filter and liquify. From here I smudged the edges of my photograph. After this, I added a clip layer mask onto the original layer. and using the brush tool with varying pressures and sizes selected the areas I wanted dispersed.
Here I felt inspired by the fact that often Global Warming is destroying the Earth. I believe I have captured how the slow process of the global warming is affecting our planet. I wanted to create these images with a direct link to abstraction through the fact I have heavily liquefied the pano-spheres and stretched them. This is a sharp contrast to the my previous pano spheres in the sense that before I explored an abstraction that showed a normal, ordered functioning and neat appearing planet like object. However now I have shown the opposite, a world in tatters. This stretching of areas of the photograph has created an effect that appears very surreal in the sense the Earth is being blown up appearing slightly scary. I like this because its abstract qualities is opposite to this but I believe works nicely because the delicacy of the dispersed particles with varying strengths appears very unreal creating an effect of which the Earth is crumbling away in our atmosphere before our eyes and that life is continuing without people raising an eyebrow. I feel I am hinting at what could happen if people continue to live this way, destroying our beautiful planet.
Abstraction
Abstract – Experimentation
Analysis:
This is my favourite image of this mini experimentation i did because of the technical and uniqueness that it has. The original emotions it brings are striking and excitement due to the unusual bright colours. The vibrant colours against the black background make the image stand out. I have the message behind the image relating to one of the state of climate change exhibition which inspired me to use the colours to represent toxicity and the pollution going into water. The technical aspects of this image are the use of shutter speed. the image had to be on a extremely fast shutter speed around 1/100 of a second to capture the detail of the balloons popping without blurring. The image doesnt consist of much original photographical planning as i thought i could also link this photoshoot to New Objectivity. i think that this works well as new objectivity as it is looking at the water balloon popping in an unusual way which makes it look different. It also links to abstract which again incorporates into this topic. I grouped four images together because it makes is have more horizontal detail adding to the effect and impact of the image. However i do think that the image could be better if i had used a tri pod because that would have compleatly illiminated any blur of the ballon popping and i would also try and get the background exactly black because due to inverting it and trying to not over expose the images there is a slight blue tint to the background. However altogether i am really happy with this shoot and its outcome.