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Analysis, Developing, Recording, Research

Light and darkness

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Light is:

In photography terms, light is “the illumination of scenes to be photographed. A photograph simply records patterns of light, color, and shade; lighting is all-important in controlling the image. In many cases even illumination is desired to give an accurate rendition of the scene.” Light is important within photography as it determines how beautiful, scary, eerie or amazing an image is; really, it communicates the tone of the image. A really bright image with lots of light being let into the lens will allow for images to appear jolly and happy, whereas the opposite would be images with a lot less light – a dark image would be considered scary or frightening or maybe it could imply secrecy. I like how light is an important factor when taking photos. Using this as a baseline for my project will allow me to explore the exam theme well; I will be experimenting with light by using a range of sources of light – the sun, torches, a man light within a room etc.

Mood-board for using light

Darkness is:

In photography, darkness is just as important as light. “If photography is writing with light, darkness is the punctuation. Darkness defines shapes, makes two dimensions look like three, and heightens drama.” I want to also experiment with darkness in relation to light, for example capturing shadows, or silhouettes, or doing a studio shoot where I use a model and a spotlight so the model appears as light and dark depending on where I position the light.

Mood-board for using darkness in photography

Analysis, Developing, Evaluating, Recording

Reviewing and Reflecting

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How well have ideas developed?

I have developed my ideas well by adding more inspirations from artists to influence my final shoots. I have started with the idea of sunlight, but have added on the idea that I wanted to explore light in general, as well as exploring its opposite of darkness to communicate the variance of these 2 everyday factors of life, as well as the similarity of how light and darkness can interact to produce similar effects that will be shown throughout my photoshoots.


Are ideas explored and selective appropriate to intentions?

My ideas have not yet been explored thoroughly; I have experimented with repetition of doors and windows – these 2 shoots were produced from the influence of the Becher’s and their typology approaches. However, I need to experiment with my specification ideas and start to focus on the shoots I have planned – (blog post on planning of shoots).


Are they sustained and focused?

My ideas are sustained and focused as I have researched artists to back up my evidence of where I want my photography exam project to follow.


Are they reviewed and refined?

My ideas are reviewed and reflected as I have followed on from my main idea of ‘sunlight’. I did a lot of research on the Sun and Jersey’s relation to the Sun, and the art movement romanticism and how this links to my project due to its beauty. Yet, I have refined my ideas to light vs darkness, using studio photo shoots as well as outside, natural sunlight shoots within nature etc. This is to make my project more varied so I can explore many different factors within lightness and darkness.


How many responses/ shoots?

So far, I have only done 1 experiment shoot to explore the idea of repetition. However, I have been planning on my other shoots to show my ideas. I am planning on doing a good amount of shoots, investigating sunlight, artificial light, shadows, variance of light and dark tones within nature, seascapes and people.


Command of camera skills/ photographic techniques and processes

I am planning on using my camera to take my other photo-shoots. I am going to experiment within my shoots by adjusting the ISO and white balance etc to whatever lighting I am in.


Understanding of composition/ considering quality of light

I will make sure I photograph my images from a variety of angles to make sure I can gain the best images possible from my shoots into light and darkness. This is also to ensure that my images are better in terms of lighting; I want to be able to have a perfect image so that when it comes to the editing process, I can adjust whether I want my images to be lighter or darker.


What are the overall quality of the images?

So far, I have only done one photo-shoot but the quality of these images were high as I made sure the composition of my images were all from a face on perspective, and were edited and cropped carefully.


How do they respond to research?

I have conducted research on Kanghee Kim, the sun and Jersey’s relation to the sun. I will respond to this research in further shoots. However I have already responded to the Becher’s typology images with my typology of doors and windows. I am planning on making a research blog post on romanticism and an artist from that movement, (J W Turner), and other artists such as Ray K Metzer, Viviane Sassen and Rinko Kawauchi that are giving me inspirations to take my photos.


How do they relate to artists references?

My images so far relate to artist references as I have also done a ‘play’ shoot with links to John Baldessari, as well as my doors and windows shoots which links to Bernd and Hilla Becher.


How do the interpret exam theme?

Bernd and Hilla Becher interpret the exam theme because they are taking images of similar types of building from the same viewpoints, where all the images are the same format (black and white), yet all the buildings are varied as they all come in different layouts but share similar characteristics such as the shapes of the buildings within 1 typology and the structure of them. John Baldessari interprets the exam theme as he is experimenting with how play is a similar thing that everyone does at some point, yet it can be so varied in how people interpret the meaning of play; everyone plays differently.

Analysis, Contextual Studies, Evaluating, Research

Ray K Metzker

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Metzker was born in 1931 in Milwaukee. He attended the Institute of Design, Chicago. He taught for many years at the Philadelphia College of Art and also taught at the University of Mexico. After his graduate studies at the Institute of Design (Chicago,) Metzker travelled a lot throughout Europe in 1960-1961, where he had two striking realisations in his work of photography: that “light” would be his primary subject and that he would seek a combination of complexity over simplicity. Metzker often said “the artist begins his explorations by embracing what he doesn’t know.” He was a successor to photography where he had developed new and experimental ideas within this field of art and design. Early in his career, his work was considered as having an unusual intensity. “Composites, multiple-exposure, superimposition of negatives, juxtapositions of two images, solarization and other formal means were part and parcel of his vocabulary.”  He was determined and committed to discovering the potential of black and white photography. Ray Metzker’s unique and continuous mastery of light, shadow and line “transform the ordinary into a realm of pure visual delight.” His street photography and darkroom experiments made it clear that his core, main subject was always light itself. Ray Metzker died in October 2014 at the age of 83 in Philadelphia. He had made this city his home since 1962.

Mood-board of Metzker’s images

I am intrigued by Metzker’s work as he is approaching the theme of light and darkness in a different way that I have thought about approaching it. He is more focused on light and shadows, mainly capturing street photographs that are exploring buildings and people. I want to experiment with different styles of photography in order to capture a good series of images that are exploring light and darkness. In order to do this, I want to do an architecture shoot that incorporates light and darkness/shadows into my architectural images.

Ray K. Metzker – 80 HY-5, City Whispers, 1980 – Howard

This image of Metzker’s explores light and darkness as he has captured this photo at a good timing in order to get the woman walking past the light toned side of the building. I like how the woman appears to be walking as she has one foot up off the ground as if she is rushing along the street. Additionally, I like how she appears almost like a silhouette due to how dark toned she looks in the image. This contrasts well against the lighter toned marble wall. This marble wall implies that this city is not a poor one; it must be fairly wealthy as marble walls are the type to seem wealthy and substantial. This links to the context of the image; Metzker took this image in the 80’s in New York (Howard is in NY). New York in the 1980s was a controversial time; “A polarizing Republican in the White House, protests for equality in the streets and a new wave of sexual self-identification. This was N.Y.C. in the early ’80s, during the 36 months in which it changed art, design, activism, food, literature and love — forever.” This shows that many aspects of life were changing and evolving – rich people were becoming richer and people who received racism or discrimination were fighting for equality. The way Metzker has chose to go about his street photography that explores light and darkness is he captured the rich, pleasant side of New York. The woman in the centre of the image is dressed well, in a long coat with high heels on, as if she is rushing along to her daily workplace which is probably a well paid job due to the how well she seems to dress. Moreover, you can see the older fashioned cars which also hints that this image was taken on the 80s. On the left side of the image, you can see tall buildings in New York, which are also really dark toned like the main woman in the photo. I like how this is juxtaposed with the light toned, bright sky. On top of this, I like how the huge buildings have shadows on them; on the very far left building you can clearly tell that there is a big strike of shadow that is hitting the left half of this building. The other half of this building is a lot more brighter which had a good contrast with the shadows.

Analysis, Contextual Studies, Research

Takashi Suzuki

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Suzuki was born in 1971 in Kyoto. She lives and works in Kyoto. In
1996, she graduated from The Art Institute of Boston, MA, U.S.A. (BFA). From
2001-2002 she was a guest student in the class of Thomas Ruff at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany. “Even if photographic images exist as a method for interpreting the world, I believe those images are different from what we sees. I am interested in how the photographic image is perceived, than what the photographic subject actually is, and also in what changes the photographed information” – Suzuki quotes. Suzuki explores many projects – http://www.takashisuzuki.com/projects.html.

Mood-board of Suzuki’s images I am inspired by

“A shadow is a natural phenomenon. And without light, there is no shadow. By using an act of photography, the phenomenon becames substance.” – Takashi Suzuki. This quote was stated under her project “ARCA” on her website. Her images for this project are shown below.

This image here is interesting due to Suzuki’s use of photography to manipulate how light the image is. The image appears slightly blurry and out of focus, which I could achieve by using my camera and not focusing it properly as I take my image. It seems like Suzuki has used a glass in this image, that is being reflected. I like how she has used a white background for these series of images as this communicates a feminine touch to these photos, due to the light tones of the image. The few dark tones that there is create the outline of the object she has used to photograph. I like how this image above has faint lines within the glass. This creates a slight repetition effect; the repeated structure of the lines (straight, thin lines) create an organised, structured vibe – I feel like the consistency of the darker toned lines make the image more appealing as it is almost hard to differentiate what the object is. I am assuming that Suzuki has used a glass in the image above, but I am not 100% sure. These images were taken in 2008, which implies how easy it was for Suzuki to create such an image. Although, this image does not clearly show how modern the photo is; it does not look like such an up to date image – I feel like older photographers back in the 1900s would have been able to create this type of image.

I am inspired by Suzki to take similar images, for example her architectural images of buildings with light and shadows being portrayed onto the buildings; this links to my project which is why Suzuki is a good photographer to use as a starting point for my project. I also am really intrigued by her 2 images that I have displayed above – the photos of the bright, white images that look as if it is a glass being used as the object. I think this also relates to my project of light and darkness well because they are images that are very light and bright.

Analysis, Evaluating

REVIEW AND REFLECTION

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After completing two photographic shoots so far for my Variation and Similarity project, based around the diversity of nature and zooming in on the sublime detail, I have decided to review and reflect my current work:

How well have ideas developed?

I believe my ideas have developed to a good extent after completing thorough research of photographers, contextual studies and artists before-hand. This research has enabled me to have a clear focal point of zooming in on the four categories of nature I have chosen: water, natural forms, trees and cloudscapes.

Are they sustained and focused?

Creating a 4 shoot photo plan early on in the project has really helped me to photograph what I want in a sustained way. It has given me basic guidelines to follow so I am not taking photographs randomly and unpurposefully.

Are they reviewed and refined?

Giving myself four categories to focus on photographing has helped refine my project, as nature is such a broad spectrum with so many aspects I could look at.

How many responses/ shoots?

I have so far only completed two photographic shoots, but have spent time editing and experimenting so I will end up with the highest quality images possible. I intend to complete at least two more shoots, with additional images if I am unhappy with my edited collection and feel I require more to strengthen my work.

Understanding of composition/ considering quality of light

I have completed my first photo shoot in the day time where the light is prime so I could gain the best photographs of trees and bark patterns. My shoot location was in an area of shade due to the large collection of trees, meaning I had to use the optimum amount of light so my photos wouldn’t turn out too underexposed. I completed my second shoot of natural forms early morning as the sun was beginning to rise, and there was sources of natural light I was able to use to highlight the colours and patterns up close of my photographic subjects of flowers and plants.

What are the overall quality of the images?

I am photographing using a Canon 1300d, a camera that produces good quality images. I have experimented with using a range of camera settings, like landscape and close up, white balance and ISO.

How do I respond to research?

I have conducted research on contextual studies of abstract photography, photo-realism, the sublime, and fine art. This gave me a good pedestal to base my work off and begin photographing from. Looking at and photographing nature so up-close often leads to abstract images focusing on the patterns and colours rather than the form as a whole.

How do I relate to artists references?

I have been studying a wide variety of artists and photographers, from Hiroshi Sugimoto who I will base my 4th shoot of water on, to Karl Blossfeldt and Charles Jones, who have inspired my second shoot around natural forms. My large source of photographers who I have researched online have enabled me to look at the different ways people have responded to nature in. Instead of taking inspiration from just one artist, I intend to take source from multiple so I get the best final products possible.

How have I interpreted the exam theme?

From the specification title of ‘Variation and similarity’, I have interpreted this within the natural world to zoom in on the environment closely and look at the miscellany of nature and the intricate detail within the sublime e.g. weather patterns, plants. I have looked at mundane things that are passed off as being uninteresting e.g. trees, and have tried to photograph and emphasize the beauty and spiritual nature they hold.

I currently estimate my work to be around a level 3/4 due to having a smaller collection of primary source images, but by the end of my project when I have completed all my shoots I hope to be around a high level 5/6.

Analysis, Contextual Studies, Evaluating, Extension, Recording, Research

Local Exhibition Study

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After recently going to two exhibitions, the CCA Gallery and Public and Private, I was inspired through the works of the photographers regarding their pop art, graphics, album art, documentary photography and paintings. Looking back at the galleries I really liked how each artist’s work varied from the next, with each possessing their own unique perspective and style. The first gallery I visited was the CCA Gallery, exhibiting the works of Mike McCartney, Rupert Truman, and Carinthia West. Some examples from the gallery can be seen below:

Rupert Truman:

Storm Thorgerson founded StormStudios in the early 1990s where he worked as part of a creative team that included photographer Rupert Truman, who worked with him shooting 99% of the studio’s output.  Storm Thorgeson sadly passed away in 2013 but the Studio remains busy today creating ‘normal but’ designs and Rupert Truman has given us access to many works from the studio, including iconic props such as the heads used in the 10cc album,  Tenology, that will be included in our exhibition ‘The Eye Of The Storm‘ (Thursday 6th – Sunday 30th July 2017).
Rupert Truman is one of the leading photographers in the country and has shot images of bands from Pink Floyd to Muse. We’re delighted to announce that Rupert will be at For Arts Sake gallery Sunday 23rd July from 12-3pm talking about his art and signing copies of his book. In our interview with Rupert Truman he talks to us about his work, his time with Storm Thorgerson and the future for StormStudios.

Carinthia West:

Throughout her career as a model, actress and journalist, Carinthia West, 59, has always had her camera by her side, capturing carefree moments for her bulging scrapbooks. She remembers her great-grandmother being a keen photographer, and received her first camera – ‘a plastic thing; when you wound on the film it got caught in the sprockets’ – at the age of nine. But it was when she was given her Canon EF, a 35mm single-lens reflex camera, in the early 1970s, that she began experimenting with film and exposures while taking shots of her friends. West’s first exhibition, Hanging Out, has come about almost by chance. As a tribute to her parents, General Sir Michael and Lady West, last year she started organising a show of their extensive art collection – ranging from a Lowry, which her mother bought direct from the artist, to a Lichtenstein – at the Quay Arts Centre, a gallery that her parents had helped found and build in the Isle of Wight in 1975.

Mike McCartney:

Mike McGear is actually Paul McCartney’s brother; he changed his name in the mid-’60s shortly after the Beatles become famous, not wishing to be perceived as riding Paul’s coattails. He was a member of the Scaffold, who recorded some fairly successful comedy rock releases in the late ’60s (their “Thank U Very Much” and “Lily Pink” singles were big British hits). In 1974, he recorded a solo album with plenty of help from Paul, who wrote or co-wrote almost all the songs and sang backup; fellow Wings Linda McCartney, Denny Laine, and Jimmy McCullough also play and sing. The album, which unsurprisingly recalled Wings, attracted some critical notice, but sold poorly.

After visiting the CCA Gallery we headed over to the Public and Private gallery, they were currently holding an exhibition based around ‘Pop Icons of the 20th Century – British & American Pop Art’. Emerging in the mid 1950’s in Britain and late 1950’s in America, Pop Art reached its peak in the 1960’s and went on to become the most recognisable art form of the 20th century. It began as a revolt against the dominant approaches to art and culture and traditional views on what art should be.

Young artists felt that what they were taught at art school and what they saw in museums did not have anything to do with their lives or the things they saw around them every day. Instead they turned to sources such as Hollywood movies, advertising, product packaging, pop music and comic books for their imagery. Some of the artists who have the work exhibited are Andy Warhol, Sir Peter Blake and Patrick Caulfield. Some of their work can be seen below:

Andy Warhol:

Andy Warhol, original name Andrew Warhola, (born August 6, 1928, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.—died February 22, 1987, New York), American artist and filmmaker, an initiator and leading exponent of the Pop Art movement of the 1960s whose mass-produced art apotheosized the supposed banality of the commercial culture of the United States. An adroit self-publicist, he projected a concept of the artist as an impersonal, even vacuous, figure who is nevertheless a successful celebrity, businessman, and social climber. The son of Ruthenian (Rusyn) immigrants from what is now eastern Slovakia, Warhol graduated in 1949 from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, (now Carnegie Mellon University), Pittsburgh, with a degree in pictorial design. He then went to New York City, where he worked as a commercial illustrator for about a decade. Warhol began painting in the late 1950s and received sudden notoriety in 1962, when he exhibited paintings of Campbell’s soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and wooden replicas of Brillo soap pad boxes. By 1963 he was mass-producing these purposely banal images of consumer goods by means of photographic silkscreen prints, and he then began printing endless variations of portraits of celebrities in garish colours. The silkscreen technique was ideally suited to Warhol, for the repeated image was reduced to an insipid and dehumanized cultural icon that reflected both the supposed emptiness of American material culture and the artist’s emotional noninvolvement with the practice of his art. Warhol’s work placed him in the forefront of the emerging Pop art movement in America.

Sir Peter Blake:

Peter Blake was born in Kent and studied first at the Gravesend Technical College School of Art before continuing his studies between 1953 and 1956 at the Royal College of Art in London. At the RCA Peter Blake was at the forefront of British Pop, studying alongside Patrick Caulfield, David Hockney, Pauline Boty, Derek Boshier and Peter Phillips amongst others. He was awarded the Leverhulme Research Award in 1956, to study popular art. Between 1956 and 1957 he made an extended journey to Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Holland and Belgium), and in 1961 was awarded the first Junior Prize from the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition. In 1964 he was appointed a lecturer at the Royal College of Art in London and at the Walthamstow School of Art. In 1975 he was a founder member of the group of artists called The Brotherhood of Ruralists, and from 1994 to 1996 he was Associate Artist at the National Gallery in London. Blake became a Royal Academician in 1981, was awarded a CBE in 1983 and was knighted in 2002 for services to art. There have been multiple retrospectives of his work in Britain, with the most significant including those in 1983 at the Tate and in 2008 at Tate Liverpool. In February 2005, the Sir Peter Blake Music Art Gallery, located at the University of Leeds was opened by the artist with a permanent display of 20 examples of Blake’s album sleeve cover art, including the only public display of a signed print of the iconic Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover.

Patrick Caulfield:


Patrick Joseph Caulfield, British artist (born Jan. 29, 1936, London, Eng.—died Sept. 29, 2005, London), was a member of the “New Generation” of 1960s British Pop and abstract artists. Caulfield’s bold paintings incorporated everyday objects in still lifes and ordinary domestic interiors and were defined by strong graphic design, black outlines, and bright, saturated colours. He later introduced elements of trompe l’oeil and photorealism into his painting. He also worked in other mediums, including graphic prints, tapestry, theatrical set design, and screen-print book illustrations. Caulfield was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1987 and shared the Jerwood Painting Prize in 1995. He was made CBE in 1996.
Analysis, Research

Minor White

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Landscapes

Minor White was an American photographer and editor whose efforts to extend photography’s range of expression greatly influenced creative photography in the mid-20th century. White’s interest in Zen philosophy and mysticism permeated both his subject matter and formal technique. “At first glance a photograph can inform us. At second glance it can reach us,” he once said.

White made thousands of black-and-white and color photographs of landscapes, people and abstract subject matter, created with both technical mastery and a strong visual sense of light and shadow. White’s pictures were abstract, black-and-white closeups of rocks, wood and water. The gleaming images were spiritual and intense. He arranged them in sequences, leading viewers from one picture to another, slowing us down and forcing us to see connections and relationships between the shapes.

In 1945 he moved to New York City, where he became part of a circle of friends that included the influential photographers Edward Steichen and Alfred Stieglitz. His contact with Stieglitz helped him discover his own distinctive style. From Stieglitz he learned the expressive potential of the sequence, a group of photographs presented as a unit. White would present his work in such units along with text, creating arrangements that he hoped would inspire different moods, emotions, and associations in the viewer, moving beyond the conventional expressive possibilities of still photography. White considered his approach to this form one of his most important innovations. The sequence seems to have gratified an important psychological need for White. He also learned from Stieglitz the idea of the “equivalent,” or a photographic image intended as a visual metaphor for a state of being. Both in his photographs and in his writing.

In 1946 White moved to San Francisco, where he worked closely with the photographer Ansel Adams. Adams’s zone system, a method of visualizing how the scene or object to be photographed will appear in the final print, formed another major influence on White’s work. 

White traveled throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early ’60s and began to experiment with colour photographs.

Colour Photographs

Among his best-known books are two collections, Mirrors, Messages, Manifestations (1969), which features some of his sequences, and Minor White: Rites and Passages (1978), with excerpts from his diaries and letters and a biographical essay by James Baker Hall.

Through his mystical approach to photography, Minor White has become one of the most influential photographers of the postwar era. His landscape photographs often create abstract images that disorient the viewer and penetrate beneath the surface of the subject. White developed sequences for these pictures that underscored the meditative possibilities of reading photographs as a means of spiritual self-knowledge, a practice that continues to inspire many contemporary photographers.

I chose Minor White as a photographer to research as I first liked how he portrayed nature spiritually and intensely. I am particularly interested in his colour photos as I like his use of bold colours against different shapes in nature, For example, the first colour image of the red/pink flower stood out to me when i saw his photos. This was because of how he portrayed the flower beautifully, even though its on a stone floor. I think that the colours complement each other well, the warm brown tones of the floor linking to the yellow center of the flower with the bright flower contrasting. I think this reflects his interest in Zen philosophy and mysticism, finding deeper meaning behind everyday objects. I also like how he considers carefully the order in which his photographs are displayed, hoping to create different moods, emotions, and associations in the viewer, moving beyond the conventional expressive possibilities of still photography. This is something I will take inspiration from in my project.

Analysis, Developing, Evaluating, Experimenting, Extension, Recording

Experimentation With Images – Cutouts

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After my initial experimentation with images, using color to respond to John Baldessari, I decided to create another response in which I would become more practical with my ideas and actually cut out parts of the image itself. To do this I would need to use a small circular object which I could proceed to cut around as an outline for the areas of photo I wanted to take out. Using a Stanley knife and a small cup I traced the outline and cut around the outskirts of the edge trying to be as neat as possible, after cutting out wanted areas on all of the photos I went onto experiment with their presentation, linking areas and using the off-cuts to put back onto the photos. Once I had create four different layouts I photographed them against a black piece of card so that more definition could be created. Overall I decided to do this because I wanted to become more practical like Baldessari who would go out of his way to make certain scenes happen, and so by me creating a response like this it would allow me to be in control of the image taken completely, warping it so that it links into my intended outcome. Here are the final developed cut-outs of the photos taken and their various experimentation’s:

For my first edit I decided I wanted to make use of the parts cut out, this is because I loved the idea of placing parts of an environment that would not typically be seen in any other location elsewhere. I chose to use the circles as a theme because of how their repetition linked into Baldessari’s work that centered around figures and form, and so by placing things in usual ways presented aestheticism for the viewer who is drawn to how the locations don’t fit into where they are placed.

For this image I wanted to layout the basis for branching various ideas for designs off on, this could consist of various linking techniques towards each circle and where they could start and end. I selected the areas with the photo which I thought captured the essential patterns and textures seen such as trees, card, sky and fields. These three different areas of the environment make up the piece and so by taking a section of it out impacts the outcome much more than it initially did.

Firstly for this image I decided to link together each circle to one another, giving each three links with the exception of the middle one having five in order to connect it to every other one. The idea behind this was to essentially link together each of the different sections of the landscape together and present the piece with an abstract and unusual object within, making the viewer think about how each area impacts the next.

Finally for this last experiment I tried to randomize how the layout of the cut-outs experimentation look completely. To do this I randomly linked together various circles making sure that two circles had a link to the border of the photo. I tried to make sure the path of the links was completely uncoordinated leaving me to cross over various paths to make a form with no actual structure in the photograph.

Overall I found that my experimentation using the four images went well due to it pushing me to create more edits outside of software, making me more practical with my photographs whilst involving me more with the actual process and outcome of each piece. I chose to use this image as the experiment because of how I thought it presented the most diverse textures and patterns within a landscape found in most of my photos.

Analysis, Developing, Experimenting

Building Faces Shoot 3 – St. Peter

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In this shoot I have developed on my previous shoots in which I have looked at the faces of housing blocks, office blocks, houses and other types of commercial buildings within Jersey. In my previous shoot I explored the area of Havre Des Pas and took photographs of houses in the area to demonstrate how the houses can have similar features and materials used due to being in the same geographical area whilst also having these features changed slightly in each house to make each house unique and different. In this shoot I have photographed an estate in St. Peters to show how similar the houses in estates can be – they are often designed in bulk to create a quick and easy building process and so leads to lots of similar houses with the same style and layout. Of course, even when looking at how similar these houses all are, there are lots of features which make the houses individualistic, such as the paint colour or the style of window or the curtains. All of these features go towards emphasising how factors such as personal taste can create something ordinary into an individualistic feature that can make the house stand out from others. The essential idea behind this shoot is to reinforce the idea of variance and similarity in previous shoots and to show how even though something may be produced to be similar, there will always be differences.

Below I have continued to edit these photographs in a sharp black and white in order to emphasise the individual features of the houses and apartments. I originally decided this due to inspiration from Tim Booth who, when photographing portraits through hands, found that the black and white prevented the viewer from just focusing on colour and rather focusing on the deeper features and shadows that are brought out when using a strong black and white. I believe that it is important for me to continue to use this contrasting colour scheme as it makes it effective for when I make edits with these photographs later on, such as with GIF’s or with double exposure edits. With some of these edits I am going to experiment cutting out natural frames and layering it over photographs of natural rock faces as I begin to study geology and granite in Jersey.

Analysis

IMAGE ANALYSIS X 3

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Image 1:

This image is a typology grid format of trees from my first shoot. I edited it in response to Bernd and Hilla Becher, who specialize in typologies. This black and white composition shows the varying patterns and markings on the trees I looked at. Editing it into black and white meant I could emphasize the tonal contrasts and shadows on each individual photograph, making them more interesting and compostionally strong. As I am looking at variation and similarity within nature, this image explores that well as it portrays the very different markings, but portrays similarity through the typology format of trees.

Image 2:

This photograph is also from shoot 1, but in a single-image format. I like this image as although it is a simple capture of woodland, the background is underexposed so contrasts well with the tree in the foreground. The high exposure highlights the moss and markings on the tree, and the leaves in the background.

Image 3:

My 3rd image from shoot 2: natural forms, is a composition of two similar photographs of a segment of rock. I positioned the rock against the white surface background to create a subtle contrast between the pale colours of the rock and the paper. My inspiration for this image is was Bernd and Hilla Becher for the composition and Karl Blossfeldt for the visual style.