Daily Archives: March 9, 2018

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AO2 Explore Ideas, Externally Set Assignment AS

Still Life Photography

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Genre: Conceptual / Installation Photography

Still life photography is a genre of photography used for the depiction of inanimate subject matter, typically a small group of objects. It is the application of photography to the still life artistic style.

This genre gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition compared to other photographic genres, such as landscape or portrait photography. Lighting and framing are important aspects of still life photography composition.

Still life images can be just about anything that doesn’t move. The definition of a still life is an inanimate object but other subjects are loosely termed as still life as well. These include flowers, food, etc. They are life forms but they don’t move. Because the subjects are smaller, lighting coverage is less and alternatively less power is need.

This goes back to a bit of photography history. In the early days of photography, exposures were pretty long, which made it ideal to take shots of inanimate objects. Of course, as technology improved and time wore on, still life photography is still incredibly popular because of product shots. Whether it’s for magazines, catalogues or websites, product shots and still life anything is very much in-demand.

The still life has always been a key tool for experimentation and development for the artist and photography adopted this tradition as well. Still Life Photography has its roots all the way back to Henry Fox Talbot (member of parliament, scientist, inventor and a pioneer of photography). Many of the early practitioners of still life photography adapted Fox’s examples and mixed them with traditional painting models. Most of this was in trying to get photography accepted as a serious art form. For example, many of the early Roger Fenton works involved typical subjects of fruit, themes of abundance and victorian style lighting.

Examples of Henry Fox Talbot’s Photography:

Still life became distinct genre and professional specialization in Western painting by the late 16th century. Still-life paintings also often are in the interior of ancient Egyptian tombs. It was believed that food objects and other items depicted there would, in the afterlife, become real and available for use by the deceased. Ancient Greek vase paintings also demonstrate great skill in depicting everyday objects and animals.

As photography matured into the twentieth century, photographers such as Edward Weston incorporated still life photography in experimentation with organic forms and connections in nature.

Examples of Ed Weston’s work:

Lighting’s always important in photography, but perhaps it’s even more so when still life is concerned. The pros normally rely on either a light box or a soft box to shoot their still lifes because it provides even light on the subject matter. Even lighting makes for better, more attractive images.

In landscape photography, there isn’t much we can learn about how to set up and control light. We generally have to work with what is there and about the only control we have is the time of day. In portrait photography, we have all the lighting options: main light, fill light, background light e.t.c, but we are restricted on the amount of time we can take. If we tweak and adjust too long, our subject will get tired of waiting and leave.

As in the composition arrangement, one of the main benefits of the still life photography lighting setup is that we can take as long as we want. We can tweak and fiddle until it is perfect.

Analysis, AO1 Develop Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, Externally Set Assignment AS

Photoshoot-1

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For my first photoshoot I decided to go to the Jersey War Tunnels to look into the history side of photography and to see if any conventional objects where displayed from the past. Many of the displays were settings e.g. dining rooms and kitchens, linking into the theme of conventions and secrets.

In 2001, a permanent exhibit called “Captive Island” was unveiled in the tunnel complex, detailing everyday life for civilians in Jersey before, during and after the occupation of Jersey.

As restrictions and shortages increased, daily life for islanders became more difficult. The image below show the recreation of a Jersey home during the occupation gives an insight into the make do and mend mentality that kept residents going throughout these dark years.

I decided to display these images as a set of three as they present the recreation of a Jersey home from different angles. My favourite image out of the three is the third one as its the most natural looking one and doesn’t look like a artificial set. I also prefer this composition to the others as it has a main focus (the chair) and still represents the atmosphere of the room from a closer perspective. It focuses on the details of the objects in the corner rather than the room as a whole, like the details of the chair and the patterns within the image (the wallpaper etc) showing the historic side. The warm colours of the chair and fireplace contrast with the cold colours in the wallpaper creating an interesting juxtaposition, the blue colours emphasising the main focus of the image which is the furniture. The lighting in this image is artificial and is too harsh on the right side of the wallpaper, to fix this I will edit the image further to creating an aesthetically pleasing image that looks natural. The overall concept of the image is to represent daily life for islanders during the occupation and the idea that history and memories can be represented though conventional objects.

Picture below taken from https://www.jerseywartunnels.com/history-stories/spreading-the-news/

For those who listened to their hidden wireless sets in secret, repeating any thing they had heard was dangerous.  Words could be whispered in open spaces where there was no risk of being overheard, but some people went a step further in their efforts to spread the latest news, putting themselves at great risk of imprisonment and probable deportation.

A local schoolmaster was able to note down BBC news bulletins and type out a summary, making copies on an old duplicating machine. If the news concerned Allied positions overseas, he would trace a map from a school atlas and make copies of that too, ready for distribution to a favoured, trusted few.

Below I have displayed some conventional objects that would be found around a home in the occupation.

In the final months of Liberation, Islanders became desperate. Food shortages were acute and with no knowledge of when the war would end, the Island entered its darkest times.

A farmer's widow

One day during the Occupation, a farmer’s widow living in the country went to her shed to collect potatoes for a family meal, but was startled by an intruder. A thin, dirty man appeared out of the gloom, and looked at her imploringly, miming the act of eating - for he was starving. One of the many enslaved workers, he was clad in ragged clothes, topped with an old army overcoat.

Feeling slightly nervous, she shouted at him and indicated with hand gestures that he should stay in the shed whilst she went to fetch a piece of bread - all that she could spare. When she returned, he uttered thanks in his own language, whilst stuffing the food hungrily in his mouth.

With compassion she watched him eat, then with words he did not understand, and gestures, made it clear that he should go, fearful the Germans would discover her helping him.

A few days later the man returned and knocked on her door. Again she gave him a little food, and he smiled at her. She was once again afraid - if discovered she would be in serious trouble. She indicated that he should leave, but he stood his ground, carefully removing a needle he had concealed in his coat collar. Grinning, he gave it to her - the only possession he had.

Although these images do not contain people it is easy to imagine families using these conventional objects and living in settings like the recreation of the living room. The fact their is no evidence of people in these photographs adds to the effect of the image like the objects have been abandoned.

9 May 1945. After five years of occupation, British forces arrived to free the Channel Islands. Scenes of happiness and relief characterised this most wonderful of days, which is still marked by a public holiday and celebrations today.

Doing a photoshoot at the War Tunnels has made me realised how the stories of those who lived around that time link a lot more into the themes secrets and conventions than i originally thought. For example, those who listened to secret wireless sets were in danger if they repeated what they heard and could only do so discretely, but some people went a step further in their efforts to spread the latest news, putting themselves at great risk of imprisonment and probable deportation. Linking to the theme of secrets as people were willing to risk their lives to spread information to others that they had discovered in secret. It also links to the theme conventions as I got to see many everyday objects that were used in homes and how  many have history and stories behind them that may not be obvious at first. Also how islanders became desperate as food shortages were acute and with no knowledge of when the war would end and how they were deprived of conventions they were normal to them before.

Analysis, AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Externally Set Assignment AS

Secrets, Codes and Conventions – Emmanuel Tecles

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Image result for emmanuel tecles

Image result for emmanuel tecles

Emmanuel Tecles is a French self-taught photographer who has a taste for mysterious, enigmatic and dark atmospheres. Tecles looks at exploration and takes inspiration from the author Tim Burton. The exploration photography that Tecles does brings to the foreground aesthetic contrasts, shadows and their opposites. Tecles says that he has always been attracted by notions of traces, memories and it is by pushing doors of abandoned buildings that he discovered nostalgic atmospheres. The places that Tecles photographs link to history and architecture. The inspiration that I will take from Tecles work is the idea to look as exploration and the lost secrets that exploration can reveal, such as forgotten buildings/land.

My Favourite Photograph

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In this photograph it appears that Tecles used natural light from the derelict building in order to cast light upon the destroyed subject. This creates an unusual environment as there is plenty of light which has friendly connotations but it is shone upon a ruined building which has connotations with being unfriendly. A shutter speed of 1/30-1/60 will have been used to capture this photograph along with an ISO of 100-200, by using these settings it allowed Tecles to capture a high resolution image with minimum grain whilst allowing plenty of light to enter the lens.

There are lots of earthly tones being used in this photograph which reflects the idea that the building is slowly being reclaimed by nature and the land is being returned to its original state. There is quite a wide tonal range in this photograph which creates contrast between the lights and darks and nature and urban. There is a 3D effect to this photograph due to the positioning of the furniture and the use of light in the background.

This photograph is one of the many photographs in which Tecles looks at destruction of urban environments, exploration and architecture. Tecles will often look at creating nostalgic scenes from these abandoned buildings which creates an aesthetically pleasing but strange photograph as he attempts to bring the history that was once the architecture in the photograph into it. Tecles also hints at natural reclamation of land by nature as the photograph shows the building falling apart and the natural light eventually leaking into the room.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, Case Study, Externally Set Assignment AS

Secrets, Codes and Conventions – Gregory Berg

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Gregory Berg

Image result for gregory berg

Image result for gregory berg photography

Gregory Berg is a New York-based photographer and urban explorer that photographs parts of the subway that most people never want to see. Throughout New York City there are dozens of closed stations and platforms, some of which are decaying very quickly. Berg says “I find abandoned subway stations of maps, jump into active platforms and walk the live tracks, avoiding the 3rd rail and moving trains” which shows just how dedicated his to his photography. Some of the photographs that Berg takes shows colours and textures that are almost of a dystopian underworld that no one ever sees.

I have chosen to look at Berg as I hope to take inspiration from his work when looking at exploration. I will show the urban exploration side of his work in my photographs and hope that my photographs convey the same secrets of explored areas as Berg’s work does.

My Favourite Photograph

Image result for gregory berg photography

This photograph is taken with the dim light leaking into the abandoned subway station, this creates an ominous environment and so creates mystery within the photograph. A shutter speed of 1/30 or less will have been used with an ISO of 200 or 400 as a low shutter speed would be needed to allow enough light to enter the lens from the dimly lit area. There is quite a cold tone to this photograph which emphasises the fact that the area is abandoned and ruined. There is a deep depth of field in this photograph which allows the whole of the photograph to be kept in focus so that the long pathway can be seen.

There is not much colour in this photograph – the only colour that really stands out is the blue light reflecting off of the walls. This pushes the ominous environment that the photograph portrays and at the same time creates contrast with the shadows. The photograph has quite a dark tone in it as there are not many light tones/highlights, this creates an uneasy feeling within the photograph. There is a 3D effect to this photograph as the pathway travels so far from the foreground to the background.

This photograph was taken as part of Berg’s exploration of underground exploration of Brooklyn in New York. To me, this photograph shows how wasteful humans are as they can have something as massive and intricate as this subway station and simply brush it to the side and then forget about it. Berg is trying to show that even if it is forgotten about and run down, it’s still an amazing place to visit.