When I first began to think about how to photograph each element I was struggling with ideas of how to photograph air, as it invisible. So I thought of the fact that smoke visualises air. I found some incense sticks that I had in my room and use a backdrop which I had used in previous shoots. For this shoot I had to use my iphone, as my DSLR camera wasn’t able to focus in time to capture the smoke, also when I used the flash it only made the photo overexposed. I edited these images on the Lightroom app on my phone, I didn’t have to do a large amounts of editing only increasing the contrast, vibrance and white balance. This shoot was very successful and I have got a lot of image that I am very happy with, the image that I have created are very contrasting to what I already had for the element of air and had added another perspective of the element.
Looking at the work that I have created too far, I am happy with the individual images, the compositions of the images, the quality, the different techniques used , attention to detail. But looking at the overall collections of the images I dont feel that I have an overarching theme to the images and if I were to start making a book down there would be no structure. At the start of this project I wanes to focus on my relationship between myself and this island that I have livecd on for 18 years and trying to look at it a different light. But that I feel that is necessary to change the focus of the project as I don’t think that this message was coming through in the images and it is a very hard concept to translate into a book form.
So I have decided that I a going to change the focus of the book to look at the four elements that hold the world together. Water, Earth,Fire and Air. As when reviewing images I realised that I have subconsciously taken images that focus on Water, Air and Earth already. The only element that I don’t have an images of is Fire, which is because there is not a continual sources of fire, but in my house we do have a coal fire that I will use. Below are the best images that I already have of each element. Looking at these images in future photoshoots I want to focus on photographing the different textures in each element and how they differentiate from one another. And the variety in each element.,
When we were first given the exam task I first started to look at and experiment with the idea of geometric landscape. However I have already looked at this type of work and I didnt feel that it was challenging me enough for what is going to be my last project, so I abandoned that idea. However I am now looking at photographing each element. Water, Earth, Fire and Air. When looking at all of the images that I had for the element of Air, I found that they were all very similar to each and became very repeat even though there was differentiation in the colours and the type of image of the sky. So I thought to bring the project full circle I could experiments with these images and use the techniques I learnt when looking at geometric landscapes. I think that the outcomes that I have produced look really good but I think that the overall composition of the image looks best when the two images used are similar in colours and cloud types.
Mine and Rinok’s work is very similar in regards to the photographic process however when we edit our images this is where the differences is. In Rinkos image she has increased the levels of cyan in the colour balance which has made the image look more appealing and inviting for the audience. In the image the central focus in a circular formation of water, this is a running theme in Rinkos book ‘illuminance’. In the book there are recurring patterns, shapes and motifs that help to give the book meaning and structure, as at a first look the book is a group of image that have no connection to each other. In Rinkos image the only two colours that are featured are whites and blues which she would have done on purpose and enhanced this look when in the editing stage. However in my image there is slightly more of a colour range, in my image the water is not as clear and has a slight green colour in it as the water isn’t that clean. Also as I took this image during ‘golden hour’ the image has a slight yellow tint to this, also due to this fact areas of shadows have been created, which is absent in Rinkos image. This shows to me is that she is very thoughtful about every image and every small detail that is in the frame. I think that Rinko would have taken this image on a day when the weather was overcast as in the image there is no sun reflection that can be seen.
After doing the shoot down at Queens Valley which wasn’t that successful I waited until the weather was good and went out at the first chance that I had. For this shoot I went down to Val de la Mare. The inspiration for this shoot was Rinko Kawauchi who has become a become inspiration for the whole of the project. In Rinkos images she focuses on the small things that we would normally pass by in everyday life if we didnt take the time to stop and appreciate the things that are around us.
Overall I think that the shoot was very successful and I have produced many images that I am really happy with. I think that in this shoot I have really captured Rinko’s ideas of ‘finding beauty in the everyday’. As many of these images have a sense of spiritually to them, which is something that I want to achieve in this project.
The aim for this shoot was to photograph the sunset and the beach during ‘golden hour’. For the shoot I went to St Ouen’s beach because on this side of the island it is flat and has the perfect view of when the sun is setting and you are able to see the perfect sunset. I got down to the beach a little while before the sun had even begun to set so I went and explored the beach and some of the rock pools near Corbiere Lighthouse to kill some time. A my project is exploring my connection to Jersey and trying to look at the island in a way of beauty. When I was young I always used to come down to Corbiere with my family and try to go fishing in the rock pools there. I was always fascinated with the habitats that had been created in the smalls cracks of rocks . So I thought that by going back here I would be able to look at the place with a sense of nostalgia and would try to communicate this in my images.
To edit these images I used photoshop, I found that mainly all of the images only needed minimal editing because the colours were very vibrant and colourful already. Throughout the whole of this project I have been looking at small details of everyday landscapes and things that we would normally pass by everyday. I have found that I haven’t needed to do much editing in comparison to other projects that I have done. Because when doing those projects I was less thoughtful about what I was photographing and was trying to capture as many images as possible. Which has shown me that if you really take time and focus when out on a shoot, you can save a lot of time in the editing process.
This was the last image that I took on the shoot and has is actually my favorite. The composition of he image I think is really good, as the top half has very neutral colours, blue, pale orange and and beige in the middle. Which is then contrasted with the vibrancy of the sun which is almost red. The sun has clouds covering it which I think has created a misty effect over the bottom half of the image which I really like.
After looking at Rinko’s work I found that she focused a lot on the nature and things that weren’t manmade and had appeared naturally. So I thought that it would be best to do this shoot in a woods, however on the day that I was planning to do the shoot the weather was very over cast. So if I had gone to the woods it would have been very dark, which isn’t what I wanted. So instead I went to Queens Valley Reservoir which is very open had has no trees covering it, the light here wasn’t that good but it would have been better than what would have been in the woods.
As this shoot was meant to focus on photograph the small little things that I was normally pass by without thinking, it made me look at the environment surrounding me in a way that I’ve never seen it before. It made me slow down and really look around and appreciate the beauty of the things that were around me. I think that this shoot was successful, but I do wish that the weather had been sunny as I think that this would have enriched the quality images.
When looking at Rinkos work I found that it all has this style which, is very bright and light, so when it came to the editing process I wanted to experiment with this technique. But I still wanted the images to have their natural colours and not be too manipulated, so they still had this sense of pureness to them.
This was the first image that I took when doing the shoot, at first I passed by these bunch of roses that appeared to be dead on the side of the path. Because they looked like they had been stood on, but when I picked them up they were not destroyed at all. I thought that by having my hand in the shot gave the image a human touch which I really liked. To edit his image, I slightly increased the vibrancy of the image and increased the contrast to make the image more appealing. Lastly increased the lightnes of the image, this has given it this slightly hazy effect, I have dont this with all of the image from this shoot. I did this to keep the images to be in the style of Rinko work.
For this shoot I wanted to recreate the style of alexandra Waespi which can be seen in the image above. I did this shoot in my bedroom using a black piece of sugar paper as the backdrop for the images. The reason that I did the shoot in my own home rather than in the studio at school, was the I wanted to use natural lighting rather than artificial, and I would also have more control about the amount of light that comes through.
For this shoot I used a bunch of flowers that I had gotten my mother for Mother’s day. To create the images I slowed down the shutter speed of my camera to around an 8″ of second, I found that if it was any slower the definition of the flowers was lost and if it was any faster the image did not have the effect the ‘drag’ effect which is what I really wanted. To crete the ‘drag’ effect I eaved the flowers around in different patterns and variations, I would take one images then look back at it, decided it I liked the pattern that had been created, if not I would try a different pattern if I did I would try and create it again. When editing the images all I did was increase the vibrance and the contrast in the images, this made the images more impactful and more appealing to the viewer.What I like the most about these images is that they tie into the themes of ‘variation and similarity’ because every image from the shoot has a completely different look and feel to it which is something that I really wanted to achieve.
Created with scanner manipulation. B&W negative with yellow gel sandwiched between negative and scanner
Alexandra’s work pushes the photographic print further through experimentation with chemical reactions, manipulation of the film’s emulsion, and alternative darkroom and digital processes. She develops color film at home, often with a rough development process, bending negatives in the reel and varying the temperatures and times. In the darkroom she prints on found old paper and applies the developer with a paintbrush.
With the printed image, new layers are added by hand. Her scanner manipulations were first developed in her attempt to archive her work digitally. She believes the manipulations transform her images into an alternate reality, which fuses analogue and handcrafted techniques with digital glitches. After these stages she is left with a tangible object rather than individual photographs.
Her inspiration comes from early 20th century colour photography; particularly the techniques used in hand colouring and toned black and white prints. She is also influenced by the toned prints from Boris Mikhalov and intuitive style of Miroslav Tichy.
botanical studies
This project was created as a collaboration between the Graphic designer and Photographer Alexandra Waespi, they wanted to make a poster representing the month of July last year. July in 2018 was one of the hottest Julys on record for England so they wanted to convey the sense of how hot it really was in the images
To kickstart ideas on their collaborative project, Alexandra and Alexa began by listing words that they instantly associate with July. Alexandra chose descriptive ones, “sun-drenched”, “thirst quench” and “warm nights” for instance, while Alexa opted for “sticky”, “hazy” and “fuzzy”. Alexandra then merged the words into combinations “that could be translated visually.
Alexandra introduced the concept of potentially adding image manipulation techniques, to create a melting, photographic effect. For Alexa’s typographic element, the designer wanted the graphics to also reflect this hazy, sunny feeling, suggesting it may “be nice to combine this bleached Polaroid effect with sun prints,”. Sun-prints, is a technique where the paper is overlaid and then left out in the sun until it exposes, leaving a bleaching effect, was an apt way to create typography that happened naturally. I am going to try and attempt to rectre this technique when I do my own version of this photoshoot, but due to the weather recent being overcast and raining in not too sure if this will be possible.
Experiments for Alexandra continued, posting options and options of different flowers and levels of exposure for the pair to discuss on the thread. While Alexandra was photographing, Alexa was reading Maggie Nelson’s mix of poetry and prose, Bluets.Coincidentally, the photographer’s experiments reminded her of the writer’s use of words, but also the duo’s initial lengthy list. First, Alexa decided to experiment with typography digitally before using cyanotype to create the sun-prints as “the texture of those should play really well with these polaroids,” Alexa explains on the thread.
Digitally, Alexa produced numerous examples of how type could interact with Alexandra’s photographs. However rather than poetic sentences, the designer remained drawn to the bolder typography, particularly the word ‘melt’ to describe the project. Being able to watch Alexa work in this way was a treat for the photographer explaining that she “loved seeing Alexa use an analogue technique to put the text down, experimenting with the sun printing”. “To see those chemical stains felt like a real harmony between the ‘stains and dust’ on my images and to have that down in her work as well.” It was also during this period that Alexa felt the poster came together, particular once the pair had decided to “choose a one colour palette for the two elements,” allowing the poster “to come into itself”.
The final poster in Alexandra’s words is a mix of styles and creative disciplines in “a bold blended harmony,” she says. For Alexa she sees more of a message that the poster conveys, believing it “has a bit of mystery to it,” she explains. “Alexandra’s raw images of the flowers on black are striking and a little haunting, that feeling is present in this final outcome.”
The images below are a collection of images from my iphone that I have taken throughout the course my project, that have caught my eye for the its uniqueness/beauty. I don’t always have my camera with me so sometimes I have to use my phone to capture what I see going on around me. Depending on the type of image that I am taking I sometimes actually prefer my phones camera to the Canon camera that I normally use. My phone is an Iphone XS which is noted for the quality of it camera. Rather than exporting these images onto photoshop, as I find that this can dramatically decrease the quality of the image. I edited the images on an app on my phone called ‘VSCO’, what I really like about this set of image is that the vibrancy of the colours was already very high and I didn’t need to do that much editing to it, which is one of the reason I prefer using my phone. Most of these image were taken during the period of ‘golden hour’ this is when the sun is setting and the sun creates this golden light looks really good when taking photos. Overall I really like this collection of images and might end up using some of them in the final outcomes of the project.
