Analysis: This shoot had a direct narrative purpose, to show a clear evident relation to death itself. I wanted to capture an element of atmosphere throughout this shoot, accessing elements such a the surrounding area and combining this with forge-grounding and backgrounding. And many of my images were about the beginning of creation, showing nature, human life seen within a more positive manner, I thought it was necessary to get a direct presentation of the aspects of death and religion itself, but last to get images that were of a structured building and form t contradict and from a different composition than those that didn’t. Not only this but within the old church building and the dark deteriorating stone, compared to the life filled trees I was able to capture these huge contradicting colours and tones which personally I think is what makes this shoot the most successful.
So far I believe this shoot is the most successful shoot I have created. It shows a picture of macro high definition details within the smallest elements, it shows life, a sense of birth and reflection in the waters reflection and rippled movement, and lastly creates a sophistication within the editing process, showing a higherachy of religious value. This starting focus of these core elements and animals to show innocence, relates to the certain of the world, and too connotes a disposition of the elements coming together to form one. Too this shoot has so much connection within the photographers methods, which allows myself to know I am along the right lines and can continue with this methodology of work.
EDITING PROCESS
The editing process for this shoot was similar to my previously experimentation with inverting silver and black, however this time I wanted to over accentuate this, by allowing the colour to be more abstract to their original tonal shades. I want to accentuate the line and reflection within this shoot, showing the smallest details to create patterns and illusion of birth and life within my work.
This above is my favourite image. I believe this is so successful due to the inverted colours, creating this unique central highlight in the middle of the composition, attracting the eye. Then this calm and beautiful rhythmic of the waters movement slowly leads the eye outward, showing a framing by the small delicate leaf branches caving over the image. Too the narrative of young life, from this duckling shows the reincarnation of brith, and too the circular motion links with many of the conceptual images the photographer themselves took.
For this shoot I wanted to show both a combination of underwater and both above water photography, I wanted to capture water as I believe it can-stand for two religious sentimentalities, one being the concept of birth and rebirth, forming a new life from water, and the ability to breath underwater. The fluidity of water also shows a sense of vulnerability and also beauty. Another aspect is the power of god, through the ability to create the natural elements, such as through the creations story. I wanted to show an arrange of different white and black tonal colours, as this differers different meaning depending on weather I think that photo should denote strength of beauty.
This shoot was about a theme of loss, connoting the themes of death but seen within inanimate objects. I knew I wanted to do a skin shoot in order accentuate personalised aspect of myself into the project. I also wanted it to be used as a comparative to the shoot of the much older skin, to show the progression of skin deterioration . I wanted to take shots as-well of the hands shape without the essence of looking primarily at the texture, this is once again to connote a form of isolation, however, when editing the hand into white, it connotes an essence of the hand of god coming done and allowing a snese of help, a larger presence than our own. I wanted to take macro shots As I believed The small details of looking more at patterns and shapes is almost a personification to see whatever you imagine, it has an aberrant feel of exploring and creating out won inner meaning within each of the photos. My favourite piece form this shoot is the bench, it allows such a light aspects of loss, yet still structured, showing an ability to be remembered, and also showing the bonding of man made creation surrounded by the natural creation.
EVALUATION : the intentions for this shoot was to develop a more personal connection to our surroundings, and not to take for granted that of life and creation. I wanted also to accentuate themes of isolation, seen within the objects of an abandoned tea cup. I also wanted to show connections between rain and the element themselves in this shoot, so again gods creation but seen in a more personable way, in relation to god. The different textures and life within nature are done so in order to show a macro affect.
I wanted to do an abstract light shoot, As I believe it is an explosion of an abstract chaos to life, and the world living around us. I originally Wanted to show this light shoot in two ways, more in a more planned and constructed shoot, creating specific patterns an movements. But for this first shoot I want to show the liveliness in the lights around us, and the world in which we live, This is due to the fact that our life experience is hectic and unplanned, this shoot is more real to that of create a more planned tablo shoot.
For the following edits below, I wanted to concentrate on developing images which are more within my new themes of the evolution of life seen through religion, but presented in the silver and black tonal range. So I re-edited some photos from my previous haiku shoot that are the most relevant to that of my new narrative. I used the previous edited process of turning to black and white, flattening, inverting the images and then further editing that is the most appropriate for the specific image itself. I chose images which are more abstract, however, Connoting more themes to do with life and birth, so closer to the beginning of the book itself. Due to me knowing I wanted to create a book from the beginning, I am slowly adding in my images, in order to start creating a successful narrative. At the beginning of my book it is all about, birth, creation, innocence and nature, looking conceptually about the narrative and growing of life itself. I want my images much like the artists’ I am inspired by, To attract that abstract vision of the wonderment of life. I want the images to be more conceptual so they allow a subjectivity of others putting their own meaning onto the images themselves. Overall I believe so far there is a real delicacy within the narrative of the book and a true beauty. My book will be much longer than my previous, as I want each page to have an image, alongside this, I want the narrative itself to be long, to almost keep a true sense of time of life.
Within these book page developments, you are able to see me adding in four shoots, haiku, water refection, macro and abstract light shoot. All of these show a re-birth and smallest details of beauty, this experience of life creates a sentimentality of love and desire for the world. I belive with the many more images I wish to take My work should really show an evolution of life. When further looking at the book development itself, I wanted to make sure I was thinking of each images tonal capabilities. Many fo the images are more inverted than others, and I do not want two very light images next to each other, I wanted a passing of colours narrative throughout. Another area I need to consider, Is where and how I should add in portraits in the best flowing manner, to fit in with the primarily object and landscape oriented book.
To my mind this shoot is much more successful edited into a more sophisticated black and white, it allows a focuses on the actual construct of the image itself, and shows a more successful narrative for the book as a whole concept. With this project I really wanted to create something which I have never focused on previously, Because of this, every page is a development of life having a narrative, which I have never done previously within my photography, Too in this project it shows a more conceptual view of how to take photos, showing themes other than surrealism of the use of props and tablo shots.
My project up to this point has been more of an exploration of beauty, my own emotional views on the subject and then learning and evolving into the meaning of topics such as haiku and the emotional subjectivity to the pain of beauty and finding the beautiful within daily life. However, when planning and discussing this topic with various people, it become evident that the topic of beauty was either subject to too much personal opinions and subjectivity, or however, was too vague to create a Narrative book upon. However, I was able to discuss the main elements I have achieved so far within shoots, and what in my project to my mind was the most important currently. From this I was able to see that the main exploration of my project was the ability to see the evolution of life, and almost a family tree, or tree of life scenario. The growth of peoples attitudes and emotions accompanied with why or how they feel this way. This then led me to discuss the values of what was previously beauty and chaos to more directional opposites, such as light and ark. At the beginning of life is darkness and then light, life begins and then the more you experience life, it gets darker and then too comes to an end. This is the evolution of life. Not only does this still allow a personal experience but it creates a beginning resolution and end narrative to my story as a whole. It has a clear emotional impact and posses a successful narrative.
From this idea, I wanted to expand and create a more specific narrative concept. I started to think what is something which has personally effected my life, yet still is a clear representative of the creation and end of life. I began to relate the effect of religion to my project. God is the creator of earth and has the power to control the beginning of life and death, he is the cause and effect of light and dark and the family tree and evolution of love and family. From a young age me and my family have gone to a catholic church, I was then an alter server for 7 years, however soon dropped out of my conformation, leaving the church altogether. This close connection and bond within the church then came to an end, however the effect of religion upon my family is still strong. My narrative, could be about the power of religion to cause the effect of light and dark and have the power to show the evolution of life, but within my personal experience I could too highlight the darkness as the leaving of the church, and not just death itself.
I started to think of the viewpoints that the world was originally said to be founded on, and from roman Catholicism, the belief is that the world was created by god over 7 days. Each day forming and creating a different elements, being water, earth, plants, animals and people. I could gradually expand throughout he aspect of light and birth, these key beginning . elements. The story itself says: ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.
Literal
Fundamental Christians
Genesis story is an accurate account of creation
Non-Literal
Catholic Church
The Biblical accounts are to be understood alongside reason and science
Because of this new theme, there are still connections obviously within my work as it was about beauty and chaos, two key contributes to gods creation and the act of the people, but additionally, it too posses the ability to further the aim of my shoots over half term. Not only will I still look into illuminance and beauty created by god and the stages he created the world, but too going to the church itself, and taking images which symbolise the birth of christ and decay.
The narrative itself of life to my mind, could be broken into the following: Darkness light birth growth decay death. This 3ill be the key narrative to my book, showing this evolution of life experience, forming elements of haiku and illuminance throughout he birth and growth of life, and presenting chaos towards the ending, in order to show my demise and leaving from the church itself. Creationist from Catholic Church. This still allows my narrative to have a personal connection with myself, without removing all concepts of beauty and positivity but still showing a more interesting event in real time. Because of this now my aims are: Water – reflections in water bubble hand in water me in front of water, Natural landscapes, Golden hour , Underwater ,Light ,Stairs , Baby old people close ups skin , harbour ,flower, forest, light abstraction, darkness, town, farm, rain, zoo, birds, pain and myself. I believe with allowing myself to photograph all of these concepts my book will really have a clear and successful narrative message which is too personal. Additionally I believe the title such as ascension would be successful for the development of a book.
This story has two primary characters, a river that represents nature and a community representing the humankind. Here, all these different people have a same voice, the same state. The narrative evolves between men and river and their relationship. It’s intimate and it’s ruthless. We find dependency and destruction at the same time. It’s a contradictory affair. The river gives so much to its people and at times it takes away everything. Riverbank erosion generally creates much more suffering than other natural hazards like flooding; as while flooding routinely destroys crops and damages property, erosion results in loss of farm and homestead land. In the winter of 2011, I travelled to the villages near Ishurdi district. Padma, the largest waterway of Bangladesh flows right beside. At first the place seems abandoned. Drowned and broken houses, floating trees are all that remains. These are traces of life that was once here. Slowly I discover life in the villages. People who are still living here, many as refugee in others land. They have lost their house, farmlands almost everything. Some has left the places as they ran out of all the options.While a global warming, climate change is still being questioned, here, like many other places is facing consequences. Over the years the river changed it’s course. While doing it, it has taken so many. When the monsoon arrives and the river runs fast. The lands get washed away and disappear. Places I have photographed do not exist any more. River erosion continues with dire consequences for this land and community.
Protick’s works are grounded around the ideas of time and space. Hovering between corporeal and meta-physical, his use of light as protagonist creates a truth that is more emotional than factual. It is document only to a suspended reality, where time is perpetually slowed; and we are not just looking, but seeing. Whether working with family, environment or history, Protick’s work consistently deals with Time and how it transforms matter and life. Much of his current work, even including the book I am specifically looking at , is an exploration of him living scenarios and the people seen around himself and his life. Although having a similar narrative construct to the second photographer, he is choosing to take his photos with the aim of showing a more heavenly lighting, showing people with a clear representation of their scenario: “This isn’t something new or something connected to a particular part of the country,” says Sarker Protick, speaking about his recent work, Of River and Lost Lands, which deals with the contemporary relationship between people and nature in Bangladesh, in the context of the devastating damage and loss of land caused each year during monsoon season.
katrin koenning
Melbourne-based photographer Katrin Koenning (Germany) and Dhaka- based photographer Sarker Protick (Bangladesh) live thousands of miles apart. Yet, in Astres Noirs, a collaborative work that comprises their debut photobook, their photographs are interwoven to create a visual dialogue across distances. The images of both artists were taken with mobile phone cameras, of everyday objects and scenes, though were then transformed visually, stripping colour and amping up the contrast, to form symbolic, poetic ephemera. Printed with a lightly glistening silver ink onto matte black paper, the photographs emerge like celestial phenomena from the page. Mysterious and contemplative, the images give evidence to the artists’ passionate exploration of the world around, and, perhaps more significantly, their desire to exchange their findings with another.The photographer’s project idea is driven by anger at policies that elevate short-term profit above the need to make sustainable decisions and safeguard the world for future generations. Katrin Koenning is interested in counter-narratives and and positive ecological imaginaries to highlight our current state of collective urgency. Thus, Swell will not be centralised around a single environmental issue but rather, with the Greenpeace Photo Award, Koenning will create a still and moving image work focused on a number of mini-ecologies across Australia. The work will focus on what is at stake while avoiding expected tropes of disaster-imagery. It will create a space in which things are connected, rather than apart. With a style characterised by hybridity Koenning seeks to expand the limits of the documentary. She introduces visual elements into a dialog to provide context for the topic under discussion. The project becomes a personal narrative about the current state of the world and, at the same time, about nature hanging in the balance.
From personally researching her work further You are visually able to see the huge influence she has from so many different aspect of the world around her. She is, to my mind, so good at finding the light and passion within even the most desperate and desolate scenarios. Her works’ beauty is transdecent within every project of her work, however I chose her piece above, as it has the strongest relation to the book I am looking into. Much of her work really focuses on photographing light withthe intention to construct a story. Her work has more of a magic quality than religious, but it almost makes us question our lives and the passion we should see and feel for life. Her works are clearly edited a-lot and to her mind it is clearly a pivotal part of the final outcomes of her world as a whole. The piece above creates an expatiation of fear yet the outcome of peace, the floating creates a wholesome new outlook on the fatality of death, And instead of showing death as something to be feared, it is seen as something to be accepted.
Astres Noirs
What I decided what I loved about this book itself, is the hugely prominent highlights of silver within every image. It is so different to everything I have see previously within photography books. There is a clear presentation of beauty within every image, there is a sense of magic and power within the compositions. The book too shows a combination of landscape, objects and people which is an area I too am interested within showing. I believe with the clear influence of this book personally upon my work, I will be able to finalise my idea, and form a finalised narrative concept. Between each image their is a religious aspect highlighting a power of god, within the power of his creation. This approach pf almost bringing black and white into the modern century is so interesting, it’s a twist on what a photobook should be as captivating as a fine piece of music—a triumph of form, theme, movement, instrumental coloration, and, of course, the passion of the playing.
Astres noirs is the debut book for both Katrin Koenning and Sarker Protick, artists who live thousands of miles apart whose peculiar photographic wanderings create a hauntingly beautiful dialogue. This book presents photographs taken on mobile phone cameras, devices used to capture their everyday in an impulsive and almost obsessional way, documenting life from their doorsteps to far afield. Their photographs capture the commonplace such as water stains on asphalt, dust clouds and rays of light, and transform these into mesmerising frames – elusive fragments that evoke an imaginary creature, a milky way, a phosphorescent silhouette… presented together, their combined voices lead us on a journey into unexplored territory, somewhere between the everyday and paranormal, between night and day. Amongst enveloping darkness, lightness is revealed, dazzling and miraculously caught by discerning eyes. For their part, Koenning and Protick had been shooting on their smartphones (presumably in colour or, shots then drained of colour), Koenning from Australia, Protick from Bangladesh. Many of their photos are of commonplace things, a puddle, a horse, a bird. Some are more mysterious, more telling: a soft ball of light, a floating body, specks through an airplane window, faces nearly lost to the shiny blur.
My inspiration of black and silver: to my mind this book has been my most influential artists for myself and my project so far. Not only does it allow a concentration on the debate of light and dark, but shows a series of abstract images, displaying the fundamentals of life, and a clear narrative concept. The images are too filled with purpose and stories. I belive If I were to start editing my images in this way, and printed off my book on black paper, this could really benefit my project as a whole, and access a whole new level of photography, different to anything I had previously done or accomplished previously. Both of the artists add in a political theme to their work as well as showing the narrative of light throughout the light and dark. Because of this I believe me assigning the political narrative of not just life, but religion seen within death resurrection and the beginning of life, is a successful narrative construct. I will now start some experimentation of how I can form the similar edits, and colour tones.
This experimentation, is to show how I could develop my images, into the same silver and black edits similar to ASTRES NOIRS BY KATRIN KOENNING AND SARKER PROTICK. in terms of variation and similarity, I believe the effect of using a repetitive edit system shows the similarity, yet the variation is between the slow movement of life, and the revolving from darkness, brith, life, decay and death. This evolution within my book creates a narrative construct that is able to express.
photoshop development: Turn Black and white , Flatten, Ctrl j, Circle ,Invert, Top two layer , Inward and later one, Control right merge ,Shift ,Play with other setting, Blending moulds, Darken, Final adjustments
