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Analysis, Evaluating, Final Outcomes

Final Photobook and Evaluation

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A link to my photobook:

Visceral

Analysis of Photobook and Evaluation

In conclusion, I think that I have explored the concept of variation and similarity successfully, developing my ideas thoroughly and consistently throughout. I started off my project with the intention to explore ideas of sublime and beauty within nature, focusing on emphasising light and fragility within the natural world. I wanted to able to express an emotion through my photos, whether that be using shapes, shadows, reflections and light. I explored the work by the Japanese photographer Rinko Kawauchi as I liked how she photographs things that are ‘ephemeral’, addressing concepts like life and death in her work and how photographs everyday situations and objects and emphasises the beauty that most people wouldn’t notice. I tried to take inspiration from this in my first photoshoot where I focused on emphasising the soft shapes and patterns I found in nature, as well as the fragility. This shoot inspired me to keep photographing emphasisng the fragility and nature, but to also build on this linking it to spirituality. I experimented by making videos of the movement in nature and focused on sounds created in the natural landscape which I think was effective in building my concept of spiritual qualities and energies in nature. I then started exploring the artist Wassily Kandinsky, specifically his book named ‘Concerning the spiritual in art’ and his theories on shapes and colour. “This essential connection between color and form brings us to the question of the influences of form on color. Form alone, even though totally abstract and geometrical, has a power of inner suggestion.” He states that shapes have spiritual value which is something I wanted to draw on in my images. I took inspiration from Kandinsky theories in my next photoshoots, particularly photoshoot 4 and 5, and decided that I wanted the concept of warm and cool colours to be a main element in my project. I think that my fifth photoshoot was my most successful as I think that the images produced represent the concept of my project well, where I focused on light, textures and movement, as well as warm and cool colours, expressing the interconnection between aspects of nature and humans. Towards the end of my project I wanted to add another type of image to my collection of images, and discovered the photographer Anna Atkins who was the first woman photographer to make a photobook. The type of image was a camera-less photograph which I decided to interpret. I wanted to create and portray them in a way that is different to how they were seen in the 1900s when they were first created, which was scientifically. I wanted to emphasise the spiritual quality through the fragile and round lines of the objects on top of the light sensitive paper. I thought this was effective which is why i decided to include some of the photographs inside my photobook, and also as some of my framed final prints.

For the front cover of my photobook I decided to use one of my digitally edited interpretations of a cyanotype as I think this image indicates to the reader the spiritual nature of this photobook and it’s focus on the natural world. I like the pale blue colour that contrasts to the white of the plants and ripples in the water, as they’re soft colours that reflect the delicate features within the book. It also links to the physical photograms that will be included in the book, having a similar appearance. I decided to wrap this image around the front and back cover of the book as I think it works best full page, and by reducing it so its smaller on the page, it wouldn’t be as powerful. This is a difference between mine and Rinko Kawauchi’s photobook cover, where she included two smaller separate images on the front and back. The first page inside the photobook has the title: ‘Visceral’ in the middle which i chose as it is ‘relating to deep inward feelings’ which i think links to the spiritual nature and energy of my project and how nature provokes emotions within humans. The first double page spread displayed one image on the right side of the page. I wanted to start the book of simplistically and think that by displaying this image singularly of water falling emphasises it. I chose this image as the first one as I think the centred picture of the drops of water falling has the appearance of a peaceful and undisturbed landscape, starting the book off with a tranquil image that emphasises texture and beauty. On the next double page I also only included one image on the right side, but this time made it a full page image. I chose this image as I think it links to the first images through the ripples and textures on the water, but also looks at abstract colours and shapes. This is through the reflection of the person in the water, which isn’t noticeable a person. It also links to the first image through the branches in the foreground on the image that are out of focus as the first image also shows a section of a plant in top right in the foreground. The next double page spread I decided to use an imagoes both of the pages. The first is a full page image of koi fish, which I particularly liked as it shows the movement of the fish through the ripples in the water, linking the previous image. I think that is is a powerful image as the orange of the fish is greatly contrasted against the black of the water. I think displayed a landscape image of a closeup angle of a leaf, with the background of water. This links to the koi fish image as leafs also orange and both have the background of water. The next pages I have left blank in my design as I intend to physical insert the photograms that I made in envelopes on these empty pages. I think this will give my photobook an interactive aspect the will intrigue the reader by making them have to physically open the envelopes. I have left four blank double page spread throughout my book to put in the photograms.

I decided to use my landscape image of a tree as my first double page image as I think that this emphasises the detailed patterns of the branches that may not be as noticeable if it were smaller. I like how the trees in the centre of the image, so the tree trunk id along the spine of the book and the branches are coming out diagonally onto each page as it creates an interesting composition. On pages 14 ad 15 I used a zoomed in image all a full page image of the ripples on the water were i have reflected the light and have contrasted this with an image of a tree taken through the reflection of a puddle. I think that these images links as they are both focusing on the light and patterns in water. In the first image you can see branches in the foreground which are out of focus which links to detailed branches of the tree in the reflection. Pages 16 nd 17 I added another double page spread of a closeup image of a plant where i have emphasised the warm colours and the light. I think that this is the most effective double page spread through the bold colours ranging from yellow to red on the leaves. On pages 22 and 23 I decided to contrast the cool green colours leaves, with the warm orange tones of the koi in the water. Although these image contrast each other, they are also like through the rounded shape of the leaves in both the image, the second being a lily pad hiding the fishes face. I think that these pages are effective and stand out through the use of bold colours, I used this combination to keep the reader interested. I then displayed an image of mould which i edited to be a soft pink colours on double page spread. I like this image as it took something which isn’t normally considered nice to look at and changed it into something aesthetically pleasing. I also like how the textures and emphasised even more though the edit which is why I decided to display across two pages. Another double page spread that I think is effective is on pages 30 and 31 which I think this has a different appearance then the rest of my images. I like how the dark background of mud emphasises the reflection of the sun in the puddle, making it seem as though this picture was taken at night time when it wasn’t. I think this image is another example of photographing something which isn’t considered beautiful, puddle in mud, and making it aesthetically pleasing. I continued my photobook with combinations two images across two pages and wth double page spreads. At the end of my book i left space for my to insert a photogram. I think this is good way to end the book as it focuses on a different type of photograph that I have physically created, still relating to the spiritual qualities of nature through the delicate lines and shapes.

I think that my photobook is a good representation of my work in this project, the images showing the final outcomes of my developed ideas. By using both natural landscape and camera-less photograms I think this successfully links to my concept of nature relating to spiritual and personal connections. Photographing natural landscapes I think developed my ideas and theories from my last project and made me produce work to a higher standard a having more knowledge of techniques and contextual references.

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

Experimenting With Text

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After I had finished designing my first drafts for each of the three books I then decided that I would go onto implement potential text fonts to the book covers I was in the process of creating. The only text that I would be adding was regarding the actual title of the books and the my name on the bottom of the front cover. For me the text is extremely important as it is the first thing the viewer sees when looking at a book and the font used, linking the contents and the overall themes of the books together so the could be relevant to each other, whilst also presents an overall theme of design to the audience. To experiment with fonts first I would need create a mood board regarding the fonts that I thought would be most effective for the cover of the book. I found a variety of photography quotes and proceeded to find fonts that I thought suited a contrasting background well. Here are my results:

By experiment with these fonts I hoped to find one that would draw viewers in whilst not being overpowering and reducing the effectiveness of the overall book. This would be vital as the books have hardly any text meaning that the text which is there would need to be designed to its best of ability. Before I went on to do this I decided that I would go and explore a few ways in which I could implement the text onto the surfaces of each book and their positions, here are a few ideas of various examples I would draw certain aspects of inspiration from in my final design of the covers:

Once I was satisfied with the design in my head I decided to go ahead with what I thought would be the most effective use of text positioning for the titles and author names on each cover. Overall I had three designs in mind which I thought their simplicity allowed for maximum effectiveness. These are my designs:

After I had finished designing my covers for the three different layouts I decided upon the far left cover. This was because I wanted the title to be the first thing that the audience would read (left to right) and the implementation of the full stop filled in that extra bit of white space whilst stopping the title ending there. Here I wanted the authors names to contrast the position of the title and so deemed the placement of it in the bottom right of the cover would provide effective due to it being the second thing that the viewer would read.

Analysis, Evaluating

PROJECT EVALUATION AND FINAL PRINT PRESENTATION

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Overall, I feel my project has been an interesting and alternative insight into the diversity of the natural world and how zooming in on nature up-close can reveal it’s intricate sublime beauty. ‘Nature’ is a broad spectrum but I wanted to capture as big a variety of photos I could. My four categories of ‘trees’ , ‘natural forms’ , ‘cloudscapes’ and ‘water’ helped me establish a plan of what I would photograph on my shoots. Below, are my final prints framed up. The materials I used to help me frame my final pieces include: stanley knife, bevel cutter, black card and memory foam. For my images of high contrast and clarity, I felt the black card background mounted the photographs well, and the solid black put emphasis on the areas of light in my pictures. For my primary source images that were brighter and less heavy, I felt the white memory foam was a good backdrop as the white contrasts with the shadows and tonal differences in my pictures. The memory foam also gives my photographs a three – dimensional feel in comparison with the thinner, flat card.

Developing, Evaluating, Experimenting

ESA // Presentation Ideas

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Window mounts:

I am wanting to present my images on a black background and in window mounts. I have looked at different layouts that I could present my images, including; each set of images being in their own window mounts, each image being in seperate window mounts, if I have four images to one board or if I join two boards together and have all eight images presented together.

I have decided to present my images on two boards

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

Mounting and Display Designs

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My first images to present (below) are contrasts of each other and work very well as a set of two. I have two ideas to start with, one where each image is on white foam board and the other idea is they they are in black window mounts. You can see the two designs below and I have decided to go with the black window mount. When using the diagrams below, I liked both ideas however the black mount make the colors more prolific and allowed for a nice contrast between the white in the water and the black mount.

My next set of images to present are different, I plan to have a set of 3 images in a line sitting next to a larger image. I have two very similar ideas for this one, as you can see below. You see the set of 3 on the left on top of an extra foam board to make them stand out (3D) and the image on the right is not, however on the second idea the image on the right is also on foam board. In the end, I decided to follow the second idea and have the image on the right on foam board as well and the set on the left.

Analysis, Evaluating, Final Outcomes, Recording

Final image choices

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For my final outcomes, I wanted to group together certain images that were following the same photographical theme. 8 of my images link together as I put all 8 of these images into black and white – i felt this was more appropriate because of the style I was photographing in. Additionally, these 8 black and white images are involving shadows, (which is a big factor as to why I put these images into black and white). Therefore, this means they follow my light and darkness theme of the exam title ‘Variation and Similarity’ through my technique of capturing interesting shadows to portray light and darkness. My other 3 images I chose for my final choices were 3 images that I kept in colour. 2 of these 3 images are still involving shadows within their images, whereas the other 1 colour image has no shadows within its image; it is an image of several coloured glow-sticks that I captured in a dark room. I wanted to include some of my other dark room pictures in my final prints but a lot of these dark room shots included a model and I felt that having people in my final prints would take away the theme I was trying to follow as there is no people in any of my final choices of images. Overall, my theme for my final prints shows that I was interested in capturing shadows to show light and darkness in different areas and scenes. I kept my final prints more towards architecture, which included images from my beach shoot, my boat shoot, my architecture shoot of buildings, 1 image from my home shoot and 1 image from my dark room shoot. However, I experimented with different styles of photography to reflect light and darkness, such as seascapes, sand images, studio flower shoots and more dark room shots using long exposure to capture a moving person. After taking all these shoots, I realised my shadow images crated a more formal photographic look and matched my light and darkness title the best; this is why the 11 images I have chosen below have been picked.

I chose this image as one of my final choices for my final prints because it is an image that clearly links to my interpretation of the exam title. I captured this photo from a face on perspective which really helped the image display its light and dark tones. I took it on a sunny day hence the shadows being reflected from the balconies of the building. I like how there is a clear structure to the image as there is a lot of repeated shapes included in this photo. The multiple straight lines and objects creates a sense of repetition which also fits in nicely with how the shadows are repeated at each balcony level. I thought this image looked best in black and white because the tonal range of the photo is varied and so, having a black and white effect made the photo more standard. Again, this links to the repetition aspect of this photo because all the tones in the image are linked together without any bright or out of place colours taking charge.

I chose this image as one of my final prints because the shadows the stair handles made is really structural and organised. I like how the shadows are straight lines but how they also go in a zig zag direction. It also links in well with the first image I chose, due to the way the photo has levels to it; the stairs in this photo have a great amount of texture in them which makes the photo have more light and dark tones to it.

I chose this image for one of my final prints because the architecture of this large boat brought a lot of details and texture to it, due to the rust and various scratches and marks on the steel parts of the boat. Again, there is a few strong parts that have caused shadows onto the boat which really help build this image to become a strong factor into my light and darkness project for this exam.

I chose this photo for one of my final choices because the shadows are really vivid and bold. I like how the you can tell there is a different tone in the shadow on the cobblestoned floor compared to the floor on its own without the shadows because of the glass pane. This fits in well with the first 2 images I have chosen above as there is a clear structure to the architecture as well as the shadows. With the straight lines, this again creates a repetition effect.

I chose this picture for one my final images because there is a bold completion of shadows that portray the structure of the bus stop surrounding it. I like how the floor is tarmac with stones on top. This makes the shadows more obvious as the stones in the floor differentiates itself from the shadows.

I chose this image for one of my final choices as it really shows the variation of light and dark tones. It is an image of the blinds on my garden doors – this is such a simple photo yet the sun from outside creates this interesting, unique effect of how easily light and darkness can be shown onto objects. I like how there is a repetition of the rectangular shapes of the blinds. Additionally, each section of the blind has a thin line of dark toned shadows which outlines how there are strong shadows in this photo. The thicker dark toned shadows almost border the image and give it this bold vibe.

I chose this image for one of my final choices because the object I captured is unique and different to every other object and scene I have photographed. I like how I zoomed in on in the top half of this large steel pipe; this makes my photo more close up and shows how I focused on only one area of this object. I like how you can see the rust marks on the pipe – this creates a fine detail to it, similar to my 3rd image I displayed above from my boat shoot. There is a slight shadow to the far left and far right of the pipe. Yet, because the pipe is silver steel, the reflection of other objects onto it create darker tones on the pipe which means the main shadows didn’t need to be as big as the other shadows I have captured because overall, this image has a varied amount of light and dark tones within it.

I chose this picture as one of my final prints because the shadow of the palm trees creates an intriguing shape on the floor. This image is so simple yet the big shadow with an interesting structure to it makes the photo different. It links in well with my other images I have chosen as it has a big shadow in the image which is the main focus of this particular photo.

I have chosen this picture for one of my final prints because the architecture of this image is really full and clustered together with the palm trees. I chose to keep this image in colour because there was not many bold, strong shadows displayed and so the colourful tones of this photo was the main focus to what makes this image powerful. The reflection of the trees and cars in the windows and on the marble building create a sense of light and darkness within different aspects of the photo.

I chose this image as one of my final prints because it has an interesting focus; the way I captured this photo is so that there is no background around the frame of the image. I have clearly photographed just what is inside this boat – which could make it hard to tell what this object is. I like how there is strong shadows on the floor of the boat. Additionally, the bright blue colour of the boat is such a vivid colour which is why I thought that keeping this image in colour was best for this photo. The shadows were dark and bold enough that keeping the image in colour would still be effective to show this shadow effect, although I did adjust the contrast and shadows slightly to make the shadows stronger.

Finally, I chose this image for one my final choices because the bright colours of the glow sticks portray a strong contrast of the light and darkness of this photo. There is a sharp outline between colour and darkness due to how I used a dark room for this image. I like how the glow sticks are displayed as straight; this gives the image more of a structure to how the repetition of the straight glow sticks appear. I also like how you can see the detail of the dark tones in each glow stick as this gives the photo more balance between light and dark tones.

Evaluating, Final Outcomes

ESA // Final Photographs

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These are my final outcomes:

I chose these two contrasting images below because they were taken from the same place and they also had nothing cluttering the image such as signs or cars, and therefore the focus of the image is soley the tide and the lighthouse at Corbiere. I also feel that because there is a clear difference between the images because of how much the tide hides and changes.

The images below aren’t as clear as the ones from the Corbiere Lighthouse (above). However, I do feel that they show a clear contrast between the high and low tide even if it isn’t as obvious at first.

These four images below I find show a very clear and distinct change, and the high and low tide contrast is obvious. Although, if I was to take these images again I would have taken the high tide images on another day where the high tide didn’t line up with sunset because I have ended up with a distracting glare from the sun. Another thing I would change is the amount of signs, cars and groups of people I have captured in shot. I feel like this may draw the viewer’s eye away from the focus of the image.

Contextual Studies, Evaluating

Shoot 7 – Cutlery shoot

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For this shoot, I wanted to capture forks and spoons and experiment with different angles of lighting, different positioning of the cutlery and different backgrounds to see the effect of light on cutlery – which is such a simple everyday object. The variation of shadows is produced as shown below:

Contact sheet

Edits

This shoot was inspired by Michael Luitad from his cutlery work, where I have already made a blog post on him and his work.

Analysis, Developing, Evaluating, Planning, Research

Book Specifications

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My topic in 3 words: Styles of abstraction

Topic described in a sentence: I will be exploring how three different categories of abstraction, colour, texture and pattern compliment and contrast each other when put together.

My Topic described in a paragraph: I will be looking at the topic of abstraction regarding three of the more dominant areas of it. I will firstly look at colour and the use of heavily saturated photography to isolate the subject from its surrounding environment. Texture is another theme I wish to explore through the almost unseen world present when looked at closer inspection and how natures pattern often are aesthetic and in huge variety. Lastly I will be looking at pattern and the idea of isolating once again a subject from its surrounding environment so that it becomes up to the viewers to interpret what it could be in regards to surface and look.

Design:

  • Look and feel: I would like a matte cover which would produce a photographic but card like feel which would really compliment the material being used for my overall design and theme.
  • Paper and ink: For the sleeve I would probably use printing ink to produce the title and author name, but within the book I would use glossy paper due to it producing a more detailed outcome.
  • Format, size and orientation: The format would be three portrait books due to me wanting them to be able to fit into sleeves, I would probably make the size of them relatively small just below the size of A4 paper.
  • Binding and cover: The cover would be the title of that topic of abstraction within the book such as saturated.
  • Title: Each book will have a different title regarding the contents which can be found inside.
  • Structure and architecture: The page layouts will mainly be one or two images to a spread with the occasional three images if I want to create the impression of a triptych.
  • Design and layout: Once again the pages will mainly have one to two images per spread with the occasional three or four
  • Editing and sequencing: I will be ordering the images into each book regarding which title they best fit into, saturation, texture or pattern. Each book will have the photos ordered into a way in which each compliment each other or have a greater overall theme.
  • Images and text: I would like to keep the book very minimalist and so possibly would just have the location or word saturation with its number such as #1 or #2