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Kanghee Kim

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Kanghee Kim is currently 27. She was born in Korea but moved to New York with her family when she was 14. At that time, there was a need for more nurses in the USA, and her mother was helping to fill that gap – but their lawyer missed a deadline. Kim was never able to secure a citizenship. Eventually, she was protected under the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) policy, but her status has made leaving the country too much of a risk. She states: “I really miss Korea, especially over the last few years. Korea is the motherland. Whenever I see photos or hear about it I feel a bit torn.” Kim only got into photography in her final year of studying painting. It was this time that smartphones and cameras (technology) were improving; she was frustrated by how much space and materials were needed to paint. “I love walking around and being outside. Approaching photography as a painting was solving that problem” – Kim states.

Image of her book “Golden Hour”

“Golden Hour“ is Kim’s second book to be published by Same Paper, (who are based in China). Its carefully-assembled pictures are taken during the magic of the “golden hour” – the moment immediately before sunrise or sunset. This is part of her ongoing body of work, “Street Errands”. Most of Kim’s images are taken in New York, California, Colorado, and Hawaii, the furthest place she could go within the states. “When I first went to California, I was pretty shocked. The sky felt so close to me. I saw palm trees for the first time, I’d only ever seen them on the internet.” says Kim. She was inspired to work with images of the sky, after visiting the West Coast. By using photoshop to manipulate and edit her images, Kim feels that she can escape, creating a “new space that feels almost like travelling to an unknown place. When I’m working on these images, it feels very therapeutic. I’m so focused I don’t think about my problems”. Making these surreal images has also been a way for Kim to appreciate what she can do within her current situation. “I used to get bored of doing the same things in the same surroundings, so finding the moments that I really like and layering them helped me to not be so pessimistic or self-pitying.”

Mood-board of Kangehee Kim’s images from her photo-book “Golden Hour”

Image Analysis

Golden Hour by KangHee Kim

This image taken by Kim is a very surrealist type of image. The way that she is focusing in on the effects of the sun during the ‘golden hour’ in the US creates this dream-like series of images. This image in particular, is portraying how sunlight creates this huge effect of beauty onto a normal scene. I like how Kim has used an editing technique process; she has manipulated the side of a bus stop (along with its shadow it creates) and placed a beautiful image of the blue sea, contrasted with the bright orange blossomed sky. She has also used a technique to make sea waves appear as if they are on the pavement. She has done this because she wanted to show that although she misses her place of birth, (Korea,) she has interpreted her current home place (the United States) to be as beautiful as her original home-town, Korea. She is implying that she loves to see a beauty in everything, and using the sun as a main focus point helps create this aspect of dream-like subject matters – this street she has photographed to incorporate images of the sea and sun would have been a plain, standard image but her surrealism artist traits has made her work much more outstanding and unique. I also like how she has made the orange sun that is being reflected on the windows of the top of the building a lot more vivid and bold; although the sun may have been reflected on these windows, it would’ve been no where near as pretty as she has edited it out to be. She really wanted to make sure each and every image in her “Golden Hour” photo-book is showing bold features of the sun and the sunlights beauty. This makes her work have an attractive aesthetic, with an orange, welcoming cover and a warming golden typography. The colours in this image are really standing out – I also like how in the top right corner of this photo, you can see a bold colour of sky blue. Her touch of surrealism has really made me intrigued into her work, and has made me realise that the sun is such an amazing factor to base a photographic piece of work on.

Kim’s work of the ‘golden hour’ links to the exam title ‘variation and similarity’ because she has made every image take an approach that pinpoints the sun as its reason of beauty and boldness – they are all similar due to the fact that they are brightly coloured and consider eat sun within some part of its photo. Yet, each image is varied from the other, as she uses different settings, as well as people, to create her creative series of photos. I have chosen this artist as one of my artist references because I am keen to follow the route of light and shadows as my exam project. I want to contrast these 2 aspects of everyday life to show how different and the different effects they create; as Kim has shown in her project, light creates a very warming, happy aesthetic, which I could want to incorporate into my work that explores light. Kanghee Kim has been a great influence into my inspiration to photograph light, as I am intrigued to do a few shoots on the effects of sunlight on different scenery. However, (as I stated in my specification,) I want to explore light as a whole – not just sunlight. This may mean I will have to capture some shoots in a studio or a dark room in my house, and use artificial sources of light, such as lamps, lighters, torches etc.

Analysis, Evaluating, Recording

Photoshoot 2

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For this photo shoot i decided to explore shooting videos to portray nature as i wanted to show the movement which isn’t shown in a still image. I particularly wanted to show the flow of water in a stream or lake and thought that a reservoir would be a good place to shoot as it has different aspects of nature surrounding the water i.e. plants, trees, and animals that i could capture in video. I was also interested in recording the sounds in the landscape. As I walked around the area I took videos and pictures of aspects of the landscape that I found interesting and beautiful. I also took inspiration from abstract art in this shoot, trying to focus on lines and shapes in the landscape.

Videos

One aspect I like about creating videos of what I was originally photographing is that the different shots change after each other, comparing each angle to the one before. I also like how in each video there are different sounds of the surrounding wildlife because I am in different areas. I wanted to emphasise the fragility, beauty and existence of the plants and water and think I did that effectively. I like how in some of the shots you can tell that I am holding the camera up because of the movement giving the video a more personal effect, emphasising how I have just noticed these aspects of nature on a walk.

Images

I took photos as well as videos on this shoot so I could compare to see which was most effective. I also wanted to experiment with these images by manipulating the colours and tones within them to see if they make a more interesting image. I first started experimenting with shutter speed as I wanted to see how the images would look when I photographed moving water and the reflection of a tree. I thought that this would create an interesting series of images of the same subject of nature.

I like these images displayed together as it shows the different effects created by the faster and slower shutter speeds. The first image I chose to display was the third shutter speed I experimented with. I like this image as it still shows the details of the branches and the shapes of the leaves, but has a blurred effect from the movement of water. I don’t think that it’s bios that this image is a reflection in water and makes the reader questions what the image is of. The second image I chose to display shows less of the details in the branches and has a more exposed appearance, making the image brighter. The shares of the branches are still noticeable against the white water, but it still contrasts to the first image which is darker. If i wanted to edit these images further i could manipulate the tone and underlying colours in these images so that they could contrast even more i.e. i could edit one to be a cool tone and emphasise the warm tones in another. The third image I displayed is the slowest shutter speed I used and is the mot exposed. I also like this image as it creates a emphasised blurred effect that contrasts to the other two images, making it even harder for the audience to see what the image is of. I think that this series of images really reflects the fragility of nature through the soft blurred lines of the slow shutter speed that making the plants seem more transparent and other worldly.

In future shoot where i want to experiment with shutter speed i could use a tripod to see the effect o the water of the camera being even more still. I could also experiment with different aspects of the landscape that aren’t moving, and physically move my camera to created blurred effect.

I like these two images of elections of plants o the water as they contrast with my images from my experiment with shutter speed as they are much more detailed as they were taken with a faster shutter speed. This allow for the different directions of the ones and shapes of the branches to be noticeable. In the first image I wanted to include the tree with flowers as I thought this reflected ideologies of beauty and thought that the shape it created in the reflection was interesting. One aspect I don’t like about this image is the composition as I think that they is too many details that are over powering. I think that the combination of the flowers on the tree and the reflection is effective, but I think that the reflection in the top left of the image makes it too chaotic. If i wanted to use this image as a final outcome, I could edit out the reflection in theta left to make a more atheistically pleasing image.

The second image is he more abstract image and is harder to identify as a reflection than the first image.This is my favourite image out of the two as its composition isn’t too overpowering with the negative space at the top of the image which is then continue in the pattern of the reflection. I also like how the plant is distorted through the ripples in the water as creates stretched blurred shapes which makes a more interesting image.

I also focused flowers and plant in this shoot by themselves and in water. I chose the first image above of the whit flowers as I liked how the background was out of focus with the flower in the foreground being in focus. This makes the colours the background blend together, making the areas where the sky is more brighter. One reason I took this image is the spider web which is hanging from one flower to another on the branch. I also like the round shapes on the flowers that emphasise stereotypically feminine shapes.

I displayed the second image looking through plants to show moving water. This was one of the angles I used in my video. I wanted to display it as an image as well as i thought i could compare the two. I think that the video is more effective as it showing the fast moving water in the background which isn’t shown in the still image. Also the movement of the plants in the wind shows them more naturally. I liked the composition of this angle as the surrounding plants and leaves frame the image and make it seem as though you’re looking down through the plants. I think that the plants in the foreground being blurred is effective, with the water being in focus, as it turns the audiences attention to the bright water. I also like how the plants go across the frame in different direction as it creates a more detailed, intricate composition and how the pattern made by the ripples of the water contrasts to the pattern made by the plants.

I included the third image as it reminded me of an image I took in my first photoshoot with the same type of plants in water. This image is completely different to the first as it shows the reflection of the trees above the water. I like how the shapes and branches of the trees are still noticeable even in the reflection and make the composition of the image much more interesting than the first. I also like how there are a few brown plants in the right side of my image, adding to a range of different colours in the image.

This is another image where i experimented with shutter speed. I found that this image reminds me of the photographer Andrew S. Gray’s work who explores abstract landscape photography by moving his camera when taking pictures. He says that ‘The looseness and ability to play without being tied by the light or weather affecting the scene you’d normally be shooting is the style’s appeal to me, also the chance of creating a scene that was not necessarily there’. I think that this concept is seen in my image as the detail of the branches in the right side of the image are still noticeable, but are blurred enough with the trees in the top on the image to create an image of ‘something thats not necessarily there’. I also like the composition in this image as it’s split into three sections of different colours, reflecting ideologies of abstract art. I want to experiment with this camera technique more i future photoshoots as I think it’s effective. I will look more into the work of Andrew S. Gray.

Examples of his work:

Evaluation

Overall I think this shoot went well in exploring the movement of nature and the sounds in the surrounding area. I think that shooting videos was good way to show plants ad water naturally. For this project I still feel as though I don’t have a developed concept so I will continue to research different artists and art movements to inspire me and give me ideas. I also want to explore more with shutter speed and the movement in nature linking to fragility in nature and draw more inspirations from abstract art.

Analysis, Developing, Experimenting

SHOOT 2 – NATURAL FORMS

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My second photographic shoot to gain a wide collection of primary source to furthermore develop and edit, was focused on natural forms. I captured images of plants, leaves and flowers, concentrating on the intricate detail and pattern of these forms. Adrienne Adam, a photographer I have studied has created sublime photographs of specifically the patterns of nature, therefore making her my main basis of inspiration for my second shoot. Adrienne Adam usually works in colour to highlight the vivid, bold colours of her photographic subjects, so I also did so, furthermore enhancing the contrasts, saturation, tones and vibrancy of my primary source.

Analysis, Developing, Research

O’KEEFE AND CUNNINGHAM

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Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham was an American photographer known for her botanical photography, nudes, and industrial landscapes. Cunningham was a member of the California-based Group f/64, known for its dedication to the sharp-focus rendition of simple subjects. Members of Group f/64 thought that “photography, as an art-form, must develop along lines defined by the actualities and limitations of the photographic medium, and must always remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself”. Dismissing Pictorialism, f/64 proposed that the appearance of the photograph was more important than the subject matter. Cunningham found influence in the groups’ philosophic interest in natural forms but sought her own style. Whilst many other members of the group were mainly concerned with form, Cunningham focused on texture and light. She published an article called Photography as a Profession for Women in which she encouraged women to develop their own style in photography.

With the help of her chemistry professor, Dr. Horace Byers, she began to study the chemistry behind photography; she subsidized her tuition by photographing plants for the botany department. After graduating in 1907 she went to work with Edward S. Curtis in his Seattle studio. This gave Cunningham the valuable opportunity to learn about the portrait business and the practical side of photography. In San Francisco, 1920, Cunningham refined her style, taking a greater interest in pattern and detail as seen in her works of bark textures, trees, and zebras. As the mother of three young children, she was mainly confined to photographing her children and the plants in her garden and sought to expose the visually profound in the mundane. She became particularly interested in photographing flowers and abstracting the shapes of the petals and leaves. Cunningham undertook an in-depth study of the magnolia flower between 1923 and 1925. The importance of natural form in Cunningham’s abstract images has led to them being compared to the undulating forms in Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings. Although the two artists worked at the same time, Cunningham claimed she was not aware of O’Keeffe’s work until years later.

“ANYBODY IS INFLUENCED BY WHERE AND HOW THEY LIVE.”

Georgia O’ Keeffe

Georgia Totto O’Keeffe was an American artist. She was best known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O’Keeffe has been recognized as the “Mother of American modernism”. In 1905, O’Keeffe began her serious formal art training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but she felt constrained by her lessons that focused on recreating or copying what was in nature. During the summers between 1912 and 1914, she studied the principles and philosophies of Arthur Wesley Dow, who created works of art based upon personal style, design, and interpretation of subjects, rather than trying to copy or represent them. This caused a major change in the way she felt about and approached art.

Analysis:

O’Keeffe’s dramatic use of colour palette, line and composition presents flowers in an alternative way. Her works range from abstract responses of nature, zoomed-in and almost unrecognizable, to detailed, life-like responses that emphasize the beauty of floral subjects as they come. From the curves of flower petals to the rich tones and shadows within the composition, O’Keefe looks at flowers very similar to which Cunningham photographs, furthermore responding in artistic medium. Her vibrant works with colors that glow with energy and vitality, explore the amazing and intense colours that the environment has provided in natural forms. O’Keeffe often pushes the boundaries of the art world, in some cases quite literally with lines and forms racing off the edge of the canvas, yet somehow she always manages to maintain a sense of stability and produce works that are visually engaging. Her use of a variety of media—pastel, charcoal, watercolor, and oil—combined with her sense for line, color, and composition produce deceptively simple works. Her confidence with using these elements makes her style of painting look effortless. 

“I FOUND I COULD SAY THINGS WITH COLOR AND SHAPES THAT I COULDN’T SAY ANY OTHER WAY – THINGS I HAD NO WORDS FOR.”

Analysis, Planning, Recording, Research

The Sun

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“The sun lies at the heart of the solar system, where it is by far the largest object. It holds 99.8 percent of the solar system’s mass and is roughly 109 times the diameter of the Earth — about one million Earths could fit inside the sun.” It creates an extravagant heat onto the Earth, and some describe the sun as ‘beautiful’ due to its warming “sphere of hot plasma.” There is various research about the history of the Sun and scientific research that explains what the Sun is and how it works, as well as other interesting facts about the Sun within our solar system. However, there is other interpretations of what the Sun is looked at by others from different cultures. Mythological reasonings have previously been used; for example, such phrases like the “Sun God” and “Sun Chariot” are Greek perspectives of the Sun. “A solar deity (also sun god or sun goddess) is a sky deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength.” The Sun is sometimes referred to by its Latin name ‘Sol’ or Greek name ‘Helios’.

Within the world, different countries and continents are hotter than others, due to their position on the Earth. This is because, countries that are closer to the equator are hotter than countries that are further away from the equator (closer to the northern and southern hemisphere). The equator is an imaginary line that runs round the middle of the Earth. It is directly in between the north and south pole. It divides the globe into 2 different parts; the Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere. “The equator is warmer than the poles because the equator is significantly closer to the sun than are the poles (i.e. the equator “bulges out” toward the sun).“


I think that the Sun is an important factor in everyday life. Many people look up to the Sun to be happy; for example, some people are in a much more positive mood when the Sun is shining. I think that my idea of photographing light and shadows will mean my project will portray different moods, showing the variation and similarities within different weather types and different shades of light and darkness. Using the sun as one of the bases of my project will help create light within my photography.

Analysis, Developing, Experimenting

Housing Faces Shoot Two

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This shoot is a development on my original shoot which drew inspiration from photographers Lewis Bush and Michael Wolf. My previous shoot focused more on the faces and structures of housing and office blocks but I have decided to expand beyond this in this shoot by also photographing other types of buildings such as hotels, shops and individual houses. Through expanding beyond housing and office blocks it allows me to further demonstrate how different the housing situations within Jersey can be, as well as showing how similar the styles of housing can be in a certain area as the shoot took part near Havre De Pas where a lot of the houses are terraced and quite old-fashioned. I plan on editing photographs from this shoot, future shoots and previous shoots by experimenting with styles such as GIF’s, typologys and layering through double exposure as Lewis Bush did on ‘Metropole’. My intentions in experimenting in these ways is to explore which method is possibly the best at demonstrating how similar but different the houses/flats in jersey can be as well as emphasising the shapes and patterns within the buildings. I feel that it is important for me to focus on different types of buildings within Jersey rather than focusing on only high-riser buildings as that would limit the extent to which I explore buildings in Jersey as well as limiting the extent to which I show variance and similarity within the buildings

Contact Sheet

Edits

After going through all of the photographs that I produced on this shoot I selected some of the best that I could edit.  I edited these photographs by putting a black and white filter on in order to allow the viewer to focus on the shapes within the photographs rather than the colour.  I then used a perspective crop on the majority of the photographs in order to make the photograph completely straight on in order to further emphasise the symmetry and patterns within the photographs.  As well as the black and white filter I increased the contrast, used high highlights and whites, used low shadows and blacks and adjusted the exposure accordingly to create a composition that is mostly over exposed but the features such as the windows are emphasised to help the shapes within the buildings to come forward.

Analysis

I captured this photograph in a natural lighting in order to bring out the natural shadows and shapes within the building that I was photographing.  There is a wide tonal range due to both the nature of the building and my editing to the photograph.  The bright whiteness in the walls of the photograph contrasts greatly with the dark black shadows on the balconies.  I took this photograph on a bright day where there was plenty of sunlight so only needed to use a low ISO of 100 along with a shutter speed of 1/60 to capture this photograph.  The low ISO paired with the quick shutter speed allowed for the photograph to be as high in quality as possible as well as not being overexposed (even though I edited the photograph to increase the exposure.  I edited this photograph by using a black and white filter to bring out the shapes in the windows as well as the shadows and then I increased the contrast, highlights and whites whilst reducing blacks and shadows to create a composition that had high contrast between the black and whites.  A depth of field of f/16 was used to capture the photograph which can be seen as the whole of the photograph is in focus.  The photograph has a slightly cold colour cast to it due the bright whiteness throughout it.

I opted for a black and white filter over a colour photograph as it helped to bring out the details within the buildings, especially the contrasts as well as a wide tonal range to create a more dramatic composition.  Due to the deep shadows and edges within the photograph as well as the editing of the photograph the composition has a 3D effect as it appears to have different layers which bring the photograph to life. 

The aim of this shoot was to create a set of photographs that showed the repetition of shapes within not only blocks of flats and offices, but also within houses, shops and other styles of buildings within Jersey. The overall results shows how even though there is a lot of repetition within individual buildings, each building has its own unique characteristics and shapes and therefore have variance.  The inspiration for this shoot came from photographs of tall tower blocks in cities such as Hong Kong where each floor and flat are almost identical, which is perfectly demonstrated in Michael Wolf’s work as well as inspiration from Lewis Bush’s ‘Metropole’ in which he looks at the development of buildings through a double exposure technique to create a similar outcome to what I have done – I plan on further developing this shoot to photograph more buildings in a different area of Jersey to further demonstrate variance between the houses. I will also be experimenting with different ways of presenting the photographs.

The concept behind the previous shoot is that there are an increasing amount of these large and repetitive buildings that make way for office buildings or flats due to the ever rising population and urban migration but this shoot focuses as well on the housing of the population away from these tower blocks. The photographs resulting from my shoot show just how repetitive these buildings that are taking space from nature really are, especially ones in within close proximity to eachother, and reflect the idea that some residents may believe that the landscape of cities including Jersey is becoming repetitive and monotonous as lots of land is being taken to serve the same purpose of housing or offices.

Analysis, Research

CHARLES JONES

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Charles Jones (1866-1959) was a trained gardener who worked at several private estates between the years 1894 and 1910. He also photographed what he produced. He created a series of gelatin silver prints of vegetables, fruits, and flowers. Unusually he photographed them in isolation against a neutral backdrop so that the images highlight the distinctive features of the subject matter.  Born a year later than Blossfeldt, he worked in a similar way but with more of a focus on the horticultural detail rather than an abstract aesthetic. Jones remained completely unknown as a photographer in his lifetime. It seems that his interest was not shared with anyone outside his immediate family. He died a near recluse in Lincolnshire in 1959. Some 500 of his photographs were discovered by Sean Sexton, a collector, in Bermondsey Market in 1981 and their value recognised. He was only identified as the photographer when the photographs were displayed on the BBC and his granddaughter identified them – and promptly wrote to the producer. Sean Sexton created a monograph about the images in 1998 and Jones subsequently enjoyed wider attention as a photographer rather than a puzzle. Since then his work has been exhibited by the Howard Greenberg Gallery (10 November, 2006 – 6 January 2007)

Image analysis:

Jones’ photograph of two white roses signifies the beauty and delicacy of flowers and their natural, untouched sublime. His photographic exploration of botany and horticulture is simple; he photographs natural forms as they come against a neutral background, doing little to change their form or appearance. However, his photographs are powerful as they represent the intrinsic detail and variation within nature. This particular photograph emphasizes the tonal contrasts between the flowers and the background. The white flowers against the complimentary grey background really highlights the main subject and draws your eye to the shapes and patterns, curves and folds of the roses. His work is extremely similar to Karl Blossfeldt’s, so I aim to respond to both photographers in my second shoot based around flowers / leaves. I too will place the natural forms I find against a neutral background, along with editing my images into monochrome.

Analysis, Experimenting

Experimentation

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I first started experimenting with the images from my first shoot by editing them black and white. Doing this emphasises the reflections on the water and highlights the shadows under the water, creating more depth in the image. I also think it emphasises the white on the plants under water making them contrast more against the shadow which is the main focus of the image. I like the range of tones created in the image, the darkest point being the plant closest to the water and the most noticeable reflection, the ground underneath the water is the mid tines, and the lightest point is the plants underwater, growing in the direction the water is going. I think that the black and white edit creates a different effect than the image in colour as it removes the warm/pink tones. This makes the image look less inspired by Rinko Kawauchi as it doesn’t emphasise the light on the water. I think that this images reflect more abstract ideas, providing responses to my research into abstract artists and photographers. I also think that it links to my research into the romantic era, looking at ideologies like beauty which i think is emphasised by the soft, round shapes in this image.

This image is one of my favourite black and white edits from this shoot as I think it reflects the abstract research I have done previously in my project. I particularly like the lines created by the movement of the water and the geometric shapes that all different tones, portraying juxtaposing colours. I think this reflects ideas of abstraction as at first glance it is difficult to identify what the image is of. I like how the plants underneath the water are shown in the light areas and less in the darker areas as it makes them stand out more.

This image in particular i think looks at the beauty of nature effectively as it emphasises the delicate aspects of water and plants through the soft tones and lines. I also like how the different tones in the water create texture showing the different shapes of the waves. One photographer in particular that this image remind me of it Andrew S. Gray who creates intricate work from shaking his camera. He produces abstract landscapes inspired by the paintings of the old English masters of pictorialism.

Colour Edits

I then went on to edit the images in colour on photo shop and tried to emphasise the different shapes portrayed in the images. I did this in various ways like adjusting the hues of the images to create different variations of the same image. I think by experimenting with different colours it creates interesting images that are exploring beauty and fragility in nature, bringing inspiration from other art movements. 

I chose to display these images as I like how they work in a series, contrasting from one another , each one one portraying a different atmosphere. The first two images use pink and purple, experimenting with the idea of what stereo typically considered feminine. I think these two images reflect ideologies of romanticism and beauty from the the soft, pastel colours that I edited them in. The first image uses a darker purple, which is emphasised by the even darker brown lines of the plants underneath the water. This all contrasts to the plant in the foreground of the image which is white. I also like how some of the waves on the water have turned white as well which complements the plant in the foreground and creates a more aesthetically pleasing image.

In the second image I edited a light pink to be in most of the image which contrasts to the plants underneath which are white in this image. To me, this work is more inspired by the photographer Rinko Kawauchi, through the use of pale pink and white in the image. The green of the plant in the foreground looks at traditional colours in nature, which contrasts to the pale pink. For the third image I chose to experiment by editing a bright red into the image and contrast it with the green, which are complementary colours. I think that this image is more bold and powerful as red isn’t a colour which is normally associated with nature and beauty. I think that displaying these images together is effective as each image makes you notice something new, through the different colours of the same aspects.


I took inspiration from Wassily Kandinsky in these images who was a pioneer in abstract art. He first began to use expressive color masses separating them from forms and lines. Soon after that, he started to merge geometry with abstraction. I think that this relates to the images I have edited as I have tried to emphasise the different shaped lines which are curved or straight against the background colour of the image. I also tried to use colours that arenet traditionally associated with nature. For many of his painting he uses lines which are round and curved which is an aspect that links are work together. In my images the rounded shapes of the plants underneath the water going in different direction reflect this. Also the plant in the foreground is an interesting shape which has a solid block colour, reflecting ideologies of abstraction.

I then started experimenting by inverting the images I took in my first shoot. I chose this edit to display as I think that the inverted effect emphasises the natural shapes and fragility of nature that weren’t as obvious before. This makes the overall image have a different atmosphere, through the dark blue colours that weren’t there before contrasting with the bright white. The edit also makes it harder to tell what the image is of. Even in the original image, the way the image way taken through a puddle wasn’t too obvious, with this edit it makes it even harder, also reflecting ideologies of abstraction. One particularly aspect I like in this image is the red shapes on the left side of the image as I think they contrast effectively to the navy blue and white colours in the rest of the image, making it more interesting.

To experiment with this image I decided to play with the idea of pastel colours to emphasise the beauty and femininity . I like this image as it is an aspect of nature that isn’t normally related with beauty. By taking the photo close up to fill the frame and emphasisng warm pink tones I think it effectively reflects my ideas of fragility in nature, through the soft rounded shapes. I experimented by adjusting the colour balance and tones in the image, making some versions colder colour, and some warmed colours to see which was the most effective, I think that the warmer colours are most effective as they play on the ideas of traditional beauty through something that isn’t considered beautiful.

I also experimented by inverted the image to see what effect it would have. I found that it created an image where the shadowed parts are much darker than the original and the lighter white/ pink areas were brighter, almost looking as if they were glowing. Although I thought that this edit made an interesting image, I think that for my project where I slightly emphasise and manipulate the colour to change the overall appearance of the image works better. This is because the the slightly edited version still reflect the nature that was there when I took the image originally. With the over edited images I think that the nature that was there orginally is less obvious in the final version, taking away from the ideologies of beauty and fragility I have been looking at in my project so far.

Rinko Kawauchi

I think that this image goes well with the previous edited image as the blue and pink tones and the rounded shapes complement each other. I edited this image to have more cooler blue tones which I could contrast to my warmer toned images. I think that this is effective in giving me a variation of images that were taken in the same place. I think that this image takes more inspiration from Rinko Kawauchi as I think it follows how she takes photos depicting the ordinary moments in life and ‘the mindful awareness of what is special in simple things’ like in her images I displayed above. . Patterns created by falling and moving water is an ordinary moment and may not be something that many people notice in their day to day life which is why I think my work relates to Kawauchi’s. I also like this image as I think that the reflection of the sky on the water is emphasised by my editing. I also like how the bubbles in the bottom left corner are slightly blurred further emphasising the effect of moving water.

Analysis, Developing, Evaluating, Experimenting, Final Outcomes, Planning, Recording, Research

Abstract Texture Shoot #1

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For this shoot I wanted to focus my attention around the textures and patterns found within the abstraction and isolation of photographing a single plant. Having previously looked at the works of Karl Blossfeldt I became inspired through the simplicity of his style but effectiveness regarding the plants hidden beauty from their structure and aestheticism. What I wanted to capture in this shoot was how patterns and textures can be found wherever you go in Jersey whilst looking at the wildlife, and that one such instance, in this case plants, can’t be viewed by the everyday eye but instead needs to be viewed from a closer and unusual perspective in order to properly see how the plants truly looks. I wanted to achieve an aesthetic looks like Blossfeldt’s, using a monochrome filter that exaggerates the shades of the plant, contrasting it from the surrounding environment. Some of his work can be seen below:

Once I had looked at some of his work I decided to go onto make a mind-map for my shoot. By doing this I hope to make my shoot a lot more easy for me to complete, this is because by using a mind-map it would allow me to more effectively identify what I should photograph when in the are, stopping me from taking images that would maybe distance myself from my aims. Here are some examples of my ideas regarding the new shoot:

Once I had completed my mind-map I decided to go ahead with the shoot, my main focus for the area are around the coastal areas of Jersey which have the biggest variety of plants to photograph. Using my mind-map as my primary source of inspiration I decided to take 100-200 images regarding textures and patterns. Here are my results:

Once I had completed the shoot I decided to go onto select ten images I thought best reflected the overall intention of the shoot. By doing this it would allow for me to whittle the results down to only five which could then be used to analysed in more detail and find the photo that best overall represented the entire shoot and my thought process. Here are the selection of ten images that I thought both visually and contextuall reflected the shoot:

After I had chosen the ten images I thought were most effective I then moved onto selecting the pieces that I thought summed up the shoot well. To do this I will be analysing the five that I found to be both visually and contextually appealing to me and the viewers, this would include looking at the visual, technical and conceptual aspects of the piece in order to select the image that best sums up the overall shoot. Here are my decisions:

I chose this image because I loved the textured pattern created by the branches of the tree growing out, for me this resembled a spider web where a general formation can be seen from what the branches have created, however there is a randomness overall as each branch has no sense of direction. I found that the thickness of certain branches brought together the overall piece, this is because of how they provide a sense of aestheticism within due to smaller black lines dart out of the sides of think thicker pieces. For me this is particularly effective from how the backdrop is white and so creates silhouettes of the outreaching branches, really abstracting the tree and highlighting the patterns created from it. Overall I found this image related well to the topic of patterns and textures due to it presenting the top of the trees through a perspective not usually regarded. providing the viewer with an insight into the patterns branches make across the landscape.

What I really liked about this photograph was the use of motion blur to capture the lillies and the reflection of the water. By capturing the brightly coloured lillies against a mainly dark surface of water I found that it created an unusual texture as by incorporating both on a sunny day it removed the impression of water, instead replacing it with a mirror of what overlooks the pond. The motion blur for me also added a sense of movement within the piece due to how it distorts the water surface replacing it with a pattern of blues and blacks blended together making it look almost like a convas. Overall I found that this piece went well with the topic of textures and patterns due to how the blur smoothened the waters surface whilst using the lillies as patches of vibrant circles to highlight what is reality.

For me I selected this image because of how the forms created by the wood come up from the ground as if they were an alien species, these little wooden formations jot up from the group and spread out as they lead further back in land. This pattern they create for me really provided a great contrast due to the variety of different colours which can be seen defining the shapes through things such as grass, moss and water. I found that the black border which surrounded the piece really added to the overall effect due to ow it almost boxes in how the image is represented, making the viewer question what is beyond the patterned field of wooden spires. Overall I found this piece represented the topic well due to the odd spire like structures dotting out of the ground in random patterns, for me this was a good representation of natures patterns and how they can range from normal to unnatural.

The reason I selected this image was because of the use of repitition present throughout the photo. I found this image to be effective due to how it portrays a common pattern often seen in nature through many of the same plants seen side by side often next to walkways, and so capturing it using a composition that boxes this symmetrical and repetative pattern in really abstracts it from its surrounding environment as it gives the viewer a more upfront and personal confrontation to a common pattern seen in your everyday life. Overall I found that the piece is effective in presenting viewers with an everyday view into the patterns and textures you can find almost anywhere you are.

Like one of the images above what I liked about it was the use of motion blur to create a textured pattern between both the water and lillies. I really liked the random pattern created by the lillies onto of the water which reflects the lillies below the surface, by doing this the water creates the imapression of two layers of lillies on top of each other. I didn’t however find this photo to be overall that effective due to how the lillies for me take up too much of the surface leaving little for the waters surface to be portrayed properly. Overall however I found it did relate to the topic of textures and patterns due to how the double layer of lillies represented the repetition found in nature.

After my shoot and analysing five of the images it allowed me to come to a conclusion regarding the best outcome from the entire shoot. Here is my final decision for the photograph that best sums up my aims from the shoot:

Final Image:

When looking over this image I found that it put across a great sense of aestheticism with the blacks of the waters surface and the blues complimenting the vibrant lillies which are dotted around the photograph. I really liked the underlying lillies below the surface as I thought they added some depth to the overall image with the reflection of the trees overcasting the lillies added to the contrast of the image. In regard to the topic title of textures and patterns I found that the photo related well to the title due to how the pattern of the lillies dotted around the surface with the surface of the water becoming blurred from motion which as a result added texture to the surrounding area.

Analysis, Developing, Planning, Recording, Research

Planning Shoot #2

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Before going ahead with the next shoot I decided that I would plan what I would want to focus on within the shoot. To do this I had previously looked at the photographer Karl Blossfeldt, a photographer who took a more abstract approach to photography looking at contrast within the structures of plants as his main method of depicting the presentation of them in a more abstract way, doing so through pattern and texture. By using him as my main source of inspiration towards the shoot I would like to produce a response which can also link into my topic of textures and patterns. An idea for the shoot is to photograph colorful or monochrome image in an abstract way regarding areas of Jersey which present me with a huge variation of plants that can reflect that area of the island. To do this I have produced a map which highlights the areas of Jersey which would allow me to take imagery in the style of my chosen photographer through what is present there. Here are some of the locations that I could potentially go to when in the process of the shoot:

When looking over the map I decided that the reservoir located on the East of the island would provide me with the wider range of plants due to there being a broader variety of types that can be located along the shore and further into the trees. When taking the images I would have to become more up close to the subject due to wanting to capture the symmetry present in their every day designs. The North of the island however provides me with more sea based plants such as sea-weed and other plants, something completely different to the plants that could be found elsewhere. Here are the locations within the mood-board that I wish to capture in my shoot:

The aspect that I wanted to explore the most is based around the structure of the plants themselves, looking at their hidden beauty not seen to the everyday eye due to their aestheticism being hidden to those who walk past. I want here to combine both aestheticism and texture and patterns together through these natural formations as I think they provide a great contrast to my previous shoot which looked at the large forms of textures and patterns in everyday lives surrounding the coast.

Another idea could be the use of a high aperture, by doing this like in my previous shoots it would allow me to further remove the subject photographed from the actual backdrop possibly making a more unusual and weird result. From here I really wanted to draw people away from the way plants are usually seen, using a sense of aestheticism and how their shadows cast on the land could provide other forms of abstraction that I could compare to using pattern and texture.

Finally for my last idea I could use editing software such as Adobe Photoshop to edit the saturation of the plants into a different colour, by doing this it would allow me to produce more abstract images due to the contrasting colours being seemingly otherworldly and impossible to find. This could also work with their shadows which I could edit in the software to increase the contrast and produce a set of images where the shadows are emphasized.