For my attempt at producing tiny planet images, I went to two locations, Les Landes and Grosnez. This is my first attempt so I am not sure how it will pan out when I put them into photoshop to create the planet.
The above shoot was Grosnez, a full 360 degree panorama (not yet stitched). I had the camera on a tripod in a portrait angle so I could capture a better height. I then used full auto setting to best get the land setup best. I took the images overlapping the last by 1:3 to ensure no bits are missing and the stitching works well.
The shoot below was at Les Landes, I did the same concept, 2x 360 degree on full auto. I used ,y hand to mark the start and stop of each panorama
I now have to put the images into photoshop, create panoramas then bend the images into a circle.
The first place I will try to shoot is Grosnez. I hope to get the castle in the planet which I think could be very interesting. The second place I would like to shoot is Les Landes, you can get a few farm houses and trees on the planet which would look good adding the houses to the rural landscape yet not over-crowding it.
The Les Landes shoot will be at the green dot and the Grosnez shoot will be at the orange dot.
Concept: I will capture the various changes in facial expression, some emotions may be more obvious than others.
Props: I will experiment with the use of a spray bottle to get the same water droplet effect that is seen in Roni Horn’s ‘You Are The Weather’.
Lighting: Natural lighting, The weather will affect the mood of those pictured.
Camera Settings: Adaptable to whatever the weather conditions are. I will use a large aperture to gain a shallow depth of field and will crop the images so that only the head region is visible in the image.
Currently for my project regarding variation and similarities I have decided to look at the topic of abstractions through things such as saturation, pattern and texture. I have chosen this topic because I am exploring how the textures, patterns and saturation within certain landscapes reflects how the environment in that area looks, this led me to look at photographers Aaron Siskind and SiegFried Hansen, both people who have looked at using the textures and patterns of areas to reflect the political stance of urban areas within cities. Personally photographer Aaron Siskind has proved to be of particular inspiration for me due to how he uses over and under exposed imagery to create piece which stray away from portraiture and instead focus on aesthetic objects to reflect who the people are and their views. Here are some examples from a previous shoot reflecting the more agricultural side of island life:
My main ideas that had risen from this are repetition found in nature and the bleakness that can accompany it. Because of this I have focused predominantly in monochrome filters as a means of highlighting this abstraction without the colour distracting the viewer from the overall composition. For me the houses and the fields which surrounded it provided most of the landscapes needed because of its wide range of plants, wildlife and man-made structures. Regarding my future plans I intend to explore other environments such as urban life and harbors, this is because both will contain completely different things which I could abstract and isolate from the environment such as reflections and glass structures, things that would not be typically seen in farmland areas. When taking the images I found a higher aperture really worked well in highlight shades and forms, which as a result produces a ghost like effect on to the plants and land, presenting the viewer with a new interpretation of what they would usually see.
“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.
For my exam, I have come up with multiple ideas with what I am going to investigate for the title ‘Variation and Similarity.’ I am interested in exploring repetition, as I have done a few shoots and experimentations to do with this; for example, the doors and windows shoot I did that was inspired by Bernd and Hilla Becher. I would maybe use some of these images and create a grid format from some of my best images of my doors and windows shoot. However, I don’t want to base my exam just on this, as my shoot inspired by the Becher’s was only a mini shoot/experiment to see if I liked this style to portray the exam title, (although, this could be an aspect of my exam). I like the idea of repetition because this could be interpreted in many different ways. Some examples of what I could capture for this title is things like: shadows and lighting, reflections, architectural structures (like doors and windows,) sunlight, colour, water, nature, landscapes and seascapes.
Another main idea of mine is light vs shadows/darkness. I like this concept as I would be showing the repetition of light rays (e.g. from the sun) and shadows. I would have to take a couple of shoots at around 5:30pm, when there is a golden hour of sunlight. However, I could also photograph shoots early in the morning, when there is sunrise at around 6am. I like the idea of basing my project around the Sun; it is a bold factor in everyday life. In Jersey, we are the sunniest island within the Channel Islands, which I think I could research further to make my project more contextual and relevant. Moreover, I like the idea of shadows as this can be incorporated in many different ways; along with light.
The binary opposite of light is darkness. I think putting these two together for my exam would work successfully as I would be showing the variation of lights and tones – from light tones to darker tones (shadows). I think exploring light can be creative and I can plan many different and varied shoots that portray light – using sunlight for outdoor shoots and other lights for indoor shoots.
I would make a specific plan on things I would want to capture. To experiment with this first, I might do a mini shoot that explores the sun and shadows on nature, for example, the sea, fields, beaches and landscape views.
Additionally, I am keen to explore another typology approach; this time, I would choose to photograph 1 interesting, unique object/building that is based near around where I live, and go back to that same spot a couple of times, (around 10 times) at the same time each day, (about 5:30pm – when there is a bold stroke of sun). I need to make sure that this object I am choosing to photograph on a regular basis is either being hit by sun rays or where there are shadows reflected on the object. I am doing this because I think that this is a unique idea that portrays the development of something specific; the object would look slightly different each time I visit it, which fits into the theme variation, as well as similarity because I am choosing to capture the same object, just on different days. From this, after a few days (maybe about 6 – 7) I would choose 2 or 3 best images from this developing shoot and include them in my project – so that I am exploring light and shadows within one specific object and how this can change over time.
These 2 shoots that I have come up with to start off my exam photo-shoots may be successful, in which I will use the images in my final outcome.
On top of this, I like the idea of illuminance; this is the total luminous flux incident on a surface, per unit area. I would like to explore the effects of light in general, not just the natural light caused by the Sun. Artificial light can create amazing photography, and I think this is a shoot I would like to experiment with. To do this, I would use a dark room and get a torch or spotlight and place it on a range of objects, or a model. To make this more intriguing, I could use different coloured filters and place them in front of the light to create a more creative, coloured series of images. If this shoot is successful, I may have to base my project around the idea of illuminance and darkness; this can be more of a general approach, so that I can use photos created by the use of artificial light as well as the earth’s natural resource of sunlight.
Mood-board of images that portray my inspirations
Overall, I think my main photography exam is going to be based on the title light vs darkness. This way, I can explore more creative ways of photographing objects/models in light as I can use artificial light and stage my photos more. With the noun ‘darkness’, this can again, be explored in more interesting concepts, as I can use shadows as a starting point for my photos on this side of the project. Yet, I can also photograph objects/models that I can create a darkness onto by adjusting the camera settings (the ISO etc). I think this would work better as I can compare two opposites that have a broader title. The variance of objects I use within my shoots links to the ‘variation’ aspect of the exam title, whereas my images will have a similarity in that they all share illuminance and darkness, (linking to the ‘similarity’ aspect of the exam title). My project will communicate how light and darkness can create similar moods – light can communicate happiness or uplifting vibes and darkness can communicate eeriness or uncertainty.
In my first photo shoot, I am taking inspiration from Lilia Luganskaia’s dog image.
Concept: I will capture the relationship between my friend and their dog in a range of individual portraits as well as portraits featuring the two.
Lighting: Natural Lighting
Props: I want the subject to wear something pink as it symbolizes love.
Location: Household where they live, Beach nearby
Camera Settings: Camera settings will need to be adjusted to suit the weather and lighting on the day, I want my images to feel warm and soft. I want to show the happiness of the friendship between the dog and its owner so will choose to slightly overexpose my images. For close-up portraits, I will use flash as it makes the small details of colour stand out e.g. eye colour, pink clothing, hair/fur colour
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.
First my first few photo-shoots I have a few ideas.
Drone Top Down
Steel Wool
Circles in town
Circles inside
Drone Top Down
For this shoot, I plan to shoot one if not more locations in Jersey where there are prominent circular features. These places include Noirmont Point MP1, Noirmont Point Lighthouse and a roundabout, likely at the Waterfront St Helier.
A similar stlye to what I would like to try – Image by BAM Perspectives
Steel Wool
For this shoot, I would like to produce something similar to what is below. It involves sparking a strip of steel wool and swinging it around in a circle.
Unknown
Circles in Town
Walking around urban areas, photographing things that are circular. I am not sure what to expect but I would imagine I will find a lot of examples.
Jono Vernon-Powell
Roundabout
Again with the drone, I would like to fly over a roundabout (perhaps at the Waterfront St Helier) and shoot top-down onto the roundabout.
Unknown
Circular Tiny Planet
For this I will take images and then use a circular photograph program to create this images.
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.
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