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AS EXAM 2017, Experimentation, Research and analysis

Reflections Inspired by and in the style of Adrienne Adams

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I chose to pursue this because I felt strongly that I wanted to incorporate Adrienne Adams style of reflections on water but alter it slightly to focus more on dark-light contrasts rather than colour.    I achieved this by taking my photographs in a light foggy environment, this made the reflections less sharp and blend more fluently into the environment.  However I exaggerated the contrast slightly to bolden and add depth and strength to the shadowed reflections.  This put strong emphasis onto the structure as it portrayed the dominating shadows as strong and bulky.  This is interesting to me because I feel that I created the strong structures of rocks successfully, but to compliment this with alternative and more delicate features slightly less strong structures.  This for me worked well as I could put into perspective the similarities of contrast between the big and small structures showing them both to be strong no matter what their size.  I believe I am happy with how this shoot went, including a range of shots between close up macro effects, to show the intricate details of each natural structure and how the role it plays in its environment and also the bigger structures that more so impact their surroundings rather than what they contribute to them.   I find interesting how the delicate textures prove to give way to a sharper tone of reflection, allowing us to see the structure of the rocks or object far more clearer.   

Best Images

Close ups:

Distance Shots

AS EXAM 2017, Experimentation, Research and analysis

Adrienne Adams Response

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This theme of reflection fits well I believe into the idea of structure because it incorporates structure of the water and structure of the reflection in quite a romanticised way.  For example the strong tonal frequency of the blue reflections present a varied and slightly random appearing pattern reflected from the object above.  I wanted to focus more on the structure of the reflection as a separate structure  itself, focusing less so on the object in which the reflection came from.  I achieved this by choosing to take the photograph in a foggy environment with clear water, allowing me to increase the contrast to ensure the water is presented in a strong tone of white and this way I could allow the viewer to focus on the reflection itself.  I added a slight blue filter to the photograph and this way I could give the photograph a more “watery” effect.  Rather than take the photograph on a macro setting I stood further back and decide to zoom in.  I found I preferred this as it gave me a better proportions, allowing the reflections to appear bigger in the photograph but also giving me the opportunity to include more of the reflections and various other objects in the frame itself.  This type of structure is interesting to me because in a sense it shows  a slightly abstract visual pattern, a style I found particularly interesting in my last landscape project.  A slightly abstract structure to me shows my original fascination form the start of this project of how a structure despite perhaps not appearing clear as to its role and significance, still has one and we can capture its beauty and with this, appreciate its natural structure of itself, uninterrupted by anything else.

 

Research and analysis

Adrienne Adams, Photograph Analysis

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Adrienne Adam

Adrienne Adams is a  fine art photographer. Her work finds an elegance in nature, focusing on the repetition of texture, form, pattern, and motion.  I find this strikes me because I want to pursue the idea of beauty within nature showing similar effects.   Her photographs include exploratory close-ups, from America to China and Tibet. Within the beauty shown in her images there is also an element of mystery to her photographs. a challenge to the imagination.  She says her intent is to show the spirit of nature.  This links in with my theme of natural structure because I want to adopt this “spirit” to show the particular importance of structure.  For example through the use of rivers she is successful at capturing the essence and energy of the subject.  She heavily expands on the use of light as subtle but also very significant.  I like exploring how light can impact the colors, shadow and general contrast .  Adrienne Adams is always confident in her exposures, exposing the available light as how it shifts and dances on the surface of for example the water.  Water can be explored through reflections helping Adrienne Adams to represent the scene in terms of color, contrast and mood.

Image Analysis

Sweet Creek Falls - 2V_70509

I love this photograph because of just how the structure of the water itself is so different so suddenly in each half of the photograph.  The photographer helps contrast these structures through the textures of the stream.  For example the texture is presented as quite smooth and blurry, taken from the use of a slow shutter speed.  I believe I can do this and also enhance this by adding a slight motion blur to the water.  This shows the structure of water as very fast moving and constantly changing, symbolic to how water particles move about freely.  This links to my idea of natural structure because I am particularly interested in structures found in nature that appear a bit random unexpected and explainable as to how this structure affects the actual being of the object itself.  Also, I like how the use of bright light and added tones of color in this photograph particularly show off the water’s reflection making us feel how the water is a delicate sensitive structure that is fragile but fits in well with its surroundings.  Then the whole smooth and delicate emotions experienced by the water is abruptly contrasted with fast edgy and rough flowing waters.  The light here is successful because it supports the rough and extreme textures through the bright light appearing it to be quite raw and almost intrusive.  With the warm colors adding a sense of warmth and intimacy to the photograph and then suddenly the abruption of a different style of the photograph, we feel that this intrusiveness into our intimacy is quite personnel and therefore we feel more impacted by the harsher rougher water.

Lake Powell - 3H_652810This photograph fascinates me because the extremely beautiful and yet subtle colors that compliment but also respectively enhance the patterns of the water too.  The tonal range is small, very sharp and therefore strikingly contrasting.  However unlike the previous photograph, it isn’t striking in an intrusive manner but in fact the opposite, a very delicate but yet strong appearance between colours.  The colours are enhanced which I believe is overpowering to the delicate movements of the water.  This is significant for structure because it shows the structure of the waves (the particles and their movements) as slightly subordinate to the strong light and colours however on the other hand strong enough to be able to impose its movements of water to compliment these reflections.    I like how the shades of orange and their respective hues increase in strength the deeper you go into the shade.  This interests me because it shows a structure that is strong, centralised and dominating.  I am interested in how the photographer has successfully linked 2 types of structures together form 2 very different sources, that in theory might clash, but in this photograph work beautifully together.  Despite its dominating presence, I like how the colours appear subtle as it lets us appreciate the beauty of how the tone changes as you travel form the left of the photograph to the right.  This colour movement is interesting as it succesfully compliments the direction of the water is travelling which to compliment the colours, the water’s texture is very smooth.

Experimentation

Artist No.2 / Ill-Studio / Quick Demo of Premiere Tools I Use

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STEP 1 / Insert shot into Adobe Premiere sequence

STEP 2 / Select ‘Brightness and Contrast’ from ‘Effects’ menu and drag onto to clip in sequence

STEP 3 / Adjust the settings accordingly to suit the shot by changing the amount of each effect in the ‘Effect Controls’ menu

STEP 4 / Select ‘Mirror’ from ‘Effects’ menu under ‘Distort’ and drag onto to clip in sequenceSTEP 5 / Adjust the settings accordingly to suit the shot by changing the amount of the effect you want in the ‘Effect Controls’ menu. You can adjust where the mirror is centred and from what directionSTEP 6 / For ‘Replicate’ in the ‘Effects’ menu, this duplicates the shot however many times you wish (can be changed in ‘Effect Controls’) and shows them on the same shot

Experimentation, Research and analysis

Artist No.2 / Ill-Studio / Second Draft of Short Film

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Working with the same footage from my first shoot where I recorded my model walking around areas of Jersey holding a full length mirror, I decided to create a second draft to show my understanding of software and who to create a well-thought out film. It also shows my ability to sustain and follow through with a fixed idea by improving, constantly, my products based around the term ‘structure’. It will also prepare fully for the exam which is fast-approaching because repeating the use of Adobe Premiere Pro – which is what I will use to put together my final piece, increases my confidence on the program and in-turn this will hopefully make for a more professional looking final piece.

I have used extra footage which you have not yet seen in my second draft and have experimented further with video and audio transitions/effects to preview what it may look like if I was to follow through with it in the exam.

In this attempt at my short film, I experimented more with techniques on Adobe Premiere and played about with titles further – therefore the name or look of the tittles at the beginning is not set in stone and will change from my first two examples in my final piece. As you can see, I inserted titles in between shots – the film begin with a deceiving shot of the mirror in some woods where it is surrounded by greenery – therefore, the mirror, also being in the bottom corner of the screen is actually quite hard to spot at first viewing. As well, the movement of the camera is deceiving. This shot then cuts to a title screen displaying the type ‘MIRROR’ four times. I chose to do this as I like modern graphics and the aesthetics that come from repetition in typography. As well, using the common font ‘Arial’ then adding a bold, underline and italic setting to it adds to the modernised and simple look. Next, a cut occurs to reveal the same shot as the first but replicated four times, another titles screen appears displaying my name in the same style as the first title screen. Finally, the shot of the mirror in the woods is shown but it is replicated sixteen times. I wished to show my use and confidence of using certain tools on Premiere to alter how a shot looks. I also believe this certain tool adds tot eh idea of structure – because repetition is, in my opinion a factor of creating a structure. I also adjusted the brightness sans contrast of these first three shots because they were quite faded out and over exposed.

I don’t know if it is evident or noticeable, but I tried to coincide the changes of shots (cuts) with eh music by cutting shots on betas and drops of the song ‘On Fire’ by Raleigh Ritchie. For people who haven’t heard the song before, this may not be clear but I thought it was a nice touch to showcase my confidence on the video editing program.

I believe that my second draft is different to my first because it is a bit more up-beat and seems quicker due t the music and length of shot times – it doesn’t’ seem as relaxed. However I can decided on the mood and atmosphere I wish for the film to have towards the end of the project.

I included other shots from my first hoot in this draft also but still have some left which I haven’t; shown – I will include these in the final piece as well shots that I believe worked out really well which you may have already encountered in these two practice runs. I plan to go on another shoot with my model and the mirror to capture more shots around Jersey – perhaps more in the country and places where the reflection may juxtapose the surroundings.

AS EXAM 2017

Vanitas Art

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Vanitas is a category of symbolic works of art, especially those associated with the still life paintings of the 16th and 17th centuries

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PHOTOGRAPHY

The incorporation of modern elements such as the Saran wrap, plastic, sugar packages etc, as well as the use of photography itself add an additional layer of nostalgia and irony when viewed within the historical framework of Vanitas painting. Both the decomposition of the natural (rotting fruit and wilting flowers) and the break down of the man-made objects, reference the physical body, life’s impermanence and the inevitability of death.

This idea of contrast between life and death implies a very deep and sincere meaning to photographs, a method that would be hard to recreate yet very effective if done so to a good standard. I shall try replicate this technique into some of my work in order to conquer this juxtaposition.

AS EXAM 2017, Research and analysis

Shells in their natural environment

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After taking photographs of shells in a studio, I wanted to explore how their structure appears within the context of their natural environment, and how significant the role  of this particular objects structure plays within the other structures on the beach.  Instead of taking photographs of specifically shells, I broadened my search as to more types of structure, for example: sand, seaweed and rocks.  I wanted to take the opportunity to explore other structures  as by doing this, I could compare the structure of a rock to a shell say for example.  Initially, I was considering going for a black and white theme as I had previously looked at this in my earlier blog posts on Andreas Feininger and felt somewhat attached to that idea of maintaining that so we could compare the structures of these shells directly from the studio, straight onto the beach.  However as I was offering an alternative in the change of location, I wanted to emphasise this idea of an alternative shoot by choosing to stay in colour. By doing this I have presented how natural structure appears in its normal environment and I felt it necessary to keep this authenticity.  I believe my shoot was successful in terms of achieving the idea of authentic natural structure.  However I felt that it was hard to directly replicate of how some of the studio photographs were taken on a beach.

 

Best Images

I have selected these as my best images because I wanted to provide a sense of context aside from my artist inspirations as to how I feel about the structures found in the shells’ natural environment from my earlier blog posts.  This context tome shows the sheer range of structures found in this particular environment.  What strikes me personally, is how each element of an object makes up its structure, and with this how each object makes a bigger structure of say a rock or a mound of seaweed, and in turn creates a bigger structure which is the environment itself.  The sense of scale is huge, and for me shows how structure has no limitations, linking with the theme of abstraction in structure.  In some photographs I took my photograph incorporating this idea,  others I wanted to continue with my alternative shots to my studio based work.  I believe I have shown the structure successfully in each of my photographs, as I emphasized the focus on what role within nature each object plays.  For me this is of particular importance because there is such diversity within nature that wasn’t there when I was in the studio, and that I believe it is important to consider how each individual structure within a photograph is beautiful to itself in its own particular way.  This is another reason in which I chose to take photographs in color with bright sun light warming the colors.  In the past I have focused on the significance of structure in a potentially hostile and harsh environment.  However now I chose to explore slightly more of a romanticized approach to structure.  I have shown how each structure in this environment isn’t domineering but rather each structure works with other structures in a fairer, more approachable manner, using each other’s structure to create one bigger, main structure of the environment itself.  Therefore through this I believe I have captured the importance of structure as part of a wider and bigger structure.

AS EXAM 2017, Experimentation

Inverted Shell and Plant Structure Photographs

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Here I wanted to experiment with how I can use the invert tool on Photoshop to create a slightly different viewpoint of structure.  As I am exploring of how natural structure is free in its shapes and forms and is unclear to us  sometimes of what it’s role in its job as the structure is, I felt it necessary to act in a similar manner and take this idea of freedom that bit further to show the structure as even more ambiguous.  I believe by creating the effect of the colours being inverted, the structure (through the use of texture seen through various elements to the object) now potentially is seen as having a different level of significance.  I particularly like how the inverted colours allows us to see further into the actual depths of the object further showing a very intricate design as to its structure, with elements of the outside areas appearing to be slightly less clear offering us an alternative as to an insight into the structure of these natural objects.

Best Images

Research and analysis

Final Images Presentation Ideas

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Mind Map of Ideas

For my final photographs, I wanted to display them in a way that isn’t plain and the same to everyone else, so I went online and looked at different ways in which I could present my photographs. I then picked out a few that seemed to be more interesting and different and made a mind map of those ideas which are seen in the photograph below:

For definite I will be using foam board quiet a lot. I will also use the one with the image at the bottom and then the foam board on the sides to give the image depth. I am still unsure if I will be using some of these ideas as it depends on the size of the photographs.