For the following images I chose a simple framing method; this is mainly because I feel like the images are rather complex and I think a complicated display would only harm the photographs as the viewer would be too distracted.
I bought 3 simple glass frames with a black outline; I found out that the images were too small for the frames alone so I decided to make borders in order to fill the empty space. I experimented with different sizes and colours before I then cut out 2 white borders (for the A4 prints) and 1 black border (for the A3 print).
Evaluation & Critique
Overall I am rather happy with the final outcome and how everything tied together; during this project I explored a variety of different landscapes (both man made and naturally occurring) but settled with a self made landscape.
I liked the control I had over the geo-mapped landscapes; I could alter every last detail which wouldn’t be possible in a real life situation. Due to this i’m rather pleased with the photographs. The first image has a warm, morning atmosphere, the main focus of the image is the sun in the middle left. The second image has more pink undertones which give it a more surreal feel. The last photographs contains more purples which results in a colder, evening perception.
The lighting would have been natural if the photographs were of real landscapes, otherwise it’s technically artificial as it came from a fake source designed to act like the sun. Since most of the images are in focus, it is safe to assume a small aperture was used (f/20+) and the shutter speed was a little longer than usual to help capture the detail. Visually, the images are appealing to the eye – there’s a distribution of tone and texture throughout each photograph. In addition to this, the first image follows the Rule Of Thirds (a point of focus is found within 1/3 of the photograph) which contributes to its success. The photos are all shown to be taken from the viewpoint of someone standing below the mountain scenery – which further contributes to the appeal of the pictures.
Critically speaking, the photographs feel detached from reality; they seem too perfect to exist. Maybe this idea of creating a landscape that’s perfect ruins the concept of capturing nature (which, most of the time, is not perfect). Although I enjoyed making these surreal landscapes, it also allowed me to understand Landscapes more deeply and even aided me in obtaining a new view.
This light in this image is the natural lighting coming from the sun, I took this image during golden hour which has given the sky lots of different colours. I took this image using a shutter speed 1/250 as I wanted the crashing waves to be sharp and in focus. An ISO of 200 and an aperture of f/22, these settings made the image have lot of light.There isn’t a large amount of texture in this image as I have edited out rocks that would have given texture as I wanted the image to have a crisp look to it. The colours in this image are very brought and vibrant due to the way that I have edited them to look like this, I wanted the piece to have a very bright and light feel to it, to add emphasis on colours in the sky being created by the sunset. There isn’t a large tonal range in this image as the image is bright.I took his image down at St Brelades Bay at low tide during ‘Golden Hour’ .This is my favourite image from the shoot, what I like the most about this image id the colour palette and the reflected section of the image lines up with the rest of the image.My concept behind this image and the shoot as a whole was to take a different perspective when looking at landscape images and to make them more interesting and appealing.
Final Presentation Of Images
My final piece is a combination of 4 images from the Alternate Landscapes project. I stuck the images onto a white foam board and then stuck them onto a large white piece of card, By having the images backed onto white foam and then white card it helps to bring out the colour in the images and highlights the brightness in them. One way that I feel that I could have improved the overall presentation of this image, as if I had thought ahead about how I wanted the images to look as I would have printed out one more image from my selection at A4 size, I would have placed it at the top to balance out the position of the images.I think that these four images are the most effective as they all have a clear linking theme between them.
Overall I feel that this project went very well and is the best project that I have done so far. I really liked exploring different techniques in relation to geometric and the way the two come together. Using Tyhe Reading as my inspiration for this project I feel that I have created images that have the same theme but are also successful in their own way. What I want to improve for next time would take a wider range of images at different locations and different times during the day as this effects the lighting and the overall look of the images.Overall I feel that these images work well together to show the themes of Geometric Landscapes although some of the images could have been further edited the simplicity of some of them still creates the same overall effect.
Bemosik Won - Born in South Korea, studied photography and metals & jewelry design in Seoul and then moved to London where he completed a degree in fine art media. He has already been featured in many exhibitions including Hollywood, Seoul, London and Paris.Technical - Won's pieces are assembled from dozens of cut-up black and white photographs in a process of deconstruction and reconstruction which ultimately creates new monuments from the buildings of London in his own digital sculptures made through the art of photography. The pieces may take hours to construct with digitally combining all the pieces in his puzzles in comparison to one quick snapshot taken in a spontaneous moment, with each part of his pieces cut up and placed to look like they actually exist in the world.
Visual - His work is constantly inspired through the city of London, with many of his pieces featuring famous monuments and buildings taken from our everyday landscape - the car park and escalators weaved into this image holds a sense of reality in a surreal landscape. His pieces defy laws of statics making them more surreal and monumental/sculptural. From architectural photographs and collages he creates urban mirages set in familiar landscapes which is perhaps is the only thing that connects the audience to the monuments.
Conceptual - His made-up monuments are glorified with the combined everyday constructions and artistically generated sculptures that tower above their landscapes which creates an idea of powerful inhuman forces. His work questions the understanding of contemporary photography and human perception.
Photoshoot - I planned to exlpore around La collette and any other industrial or constructional places in town [the gas tower] and churches as they have many towers and turrets with intricate designs. This was to collect enough images of buildings to finally create a digital sculpture based on Beomsik Won's work.
Preparatory studies will respond to the Externally Set Assignment theme and may include sketchbooks, notebooks, worksheets, design sheets, large-scale rough studies, samples, swatches, test pieces, maquettes, digital material… anything that shows fully your progress towards your outcomes.
Your preparatory studies should show evidence of: • your development and control of visual literacy and the formal elements (tone, texture, colour, line, form and structure) • an exploration of techniques and media • investigations showing engagement with appropriate primary and secondary sources • the development of your thoughts, decisions and ideas based on the theme • critical review and reflection.
Assessment Objectives
You should provide evidence that fulfils the four Assessment Objectives: AO1 Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual
and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding AO2 Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and
processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops AO3 Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress AO4Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.
Here are some other suggestions that may stimulate your imagination:
• rules, rituals, etiquette, procedures, conformity, oppression
• masks, disguises, camouflage, costumes
• oceans, forests, caves, smog, night
• hieroglyphs, codes, Braille, runes, fonts
• single-celled organisms, parasites, cocoons, shells, dens
• the Underground, tunnels, cracks, catacombs
• magic, theatre, espionage, Bletchley Park
• lies, deceit, tragedy, romance
• exploration, discovery, archaeology, metal detecting
• science, knowledge, astronomy, space exploration
• diving, caving, orienteering, cellars
• hide and seek, pass the parcel, gambling dice
Theme: SECRETS, CODES AND CONVENTIONS Title: 8PY0/02 Photography 1.
The group photo has powerful underlying conventions, whether a family portrait or of a gathering of friends. These reflect codes of behaviour that shift over time. In the early 1990s Paul M Smith explored the convention of the ‘team photo’ and the ‘night
out’ – photographs so often taken by groups of ‘lads’, which he took to be anything but spontaneous.
Paul M Smith Make My Night
Trish Morrissey gently subverted the ritual of the family holiday photo in her 2005-7 series of photographs called Front, often swapping clothes and taking on the role of the mother in semi- formal gatherings staged on beaches in Britain and Australia.
Elaine Constantine is a photographer and film-maker. Her film “Northern Soul” depicts how a generation of teenagers from gritty, northern towns in England became fixated with black soul music. The two groups of people are contrasting…but somehow fused together.
As a pioneer of the vibrant, documentary-inspired approach to fashion photography in the 1990s and early 2000s Constantine was a regular contributor to The Face, Italian Vogue and US Vogue.
Many photographers have explored the notion of fringe groups, alternatives, non-conformists, sub-cultures, anarchists etc…everything from biker gangs to surfers, trainspotters to religious groups.
Many documentary photographers have explored sub-cultures, and have recorded their often unconventional lifestyles over a period of time eg Danny Lyons, Larry Clark, Mary Ellen Mark, Chris Killip, John Bulmer and Martin Parr.
How does Constantine frame and compose the imagery here?
What lighting is employed?
How do the angles encourage us to view the people / event?
Tom Wood, Brassaї and Malick Sidibé have explored similar territory, recording social gatherings. Diane Arbus, Sally Mann and Nikki S. Lee have taken photographs that challenge and question the normal conventions of such images.
Trish Morrissey Sylvia Westbrook, August 2nd, 2005
Theme: SECRETS, CODES AND CONVENTIONS Title: 8PY0/02 Photography
2.
In The Road to Mecca, Maha Malluh mixes signs, symbols and conventions from the present and the past to illustrate the modern experience of the Hajj or journey to Mecca. She uses her children’s toys and the design of the Kiswa as a background, visually unified
by the darkroom process of photograms.
There are clear Tableaux opportunities here…or even possibilities to explore film making, animation, time lapse or DIORAMAs.
Many contemporary photographers, such as Garry Fabian Miller, Susan Derges and Adam Fuss, mix conventions and visual codes. Isa Genzken challenges expectations of traditional photographs in her work, by combining photography and sculpture. These pieces are influenced in part by Rauschenberg’s Combines and Peter Blake’s paintings.
Maha Malluh Hajj : The Road to Mecca
Theme: SECRETS, CODES AND CONVENTIONS Title: 8PY0/02 Photography
3.
Places and objects hold secrets and tell stories. Eugene Atgèt was one of the first photographers to sense the passage of time and a melancholy presence in the quiet backstreets of Paris. Paul Seawright, Simon Norfolk, Donovan Wylie and Willie Doherty record places that bear secret histories or subtle evidence of conflict.
Donovan Wylie MAZE Prison 2007 / 8
In her series Mothers and Frida, the Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako took pictures of the secret history imbued in the possessions left behind after a person’s death. Her work shows a continuing obsession with the traces we leave behind, both as individuals
and as a society.
Ishiuchi Miyako Frida Kahlo’s corset
Theme: SECRETS, CODES AND CONVENTIONS Title: 8PY0/02 Photography
4.
The photographer Diane Arbus wrote ‘A picture is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.’ This could equally refer to Maya Deren’s and Alexander Hackenschmied’s 1943 film Meshes of the Afternoon, which used innovative techniques
such as slow motion, repetition and jump cuts to build a sense of a dream interacting with reality. In the film objects seem to have a mysterious and secret significance, known only to the dreamer.
The film’s narrative is circular and repeats several motifs, including a flower on a long driveway, a key falling, a door unlocked, a knife in a loaf of bread, a mysterious Grim Reaper–like cloaked figure with a mirror for a face, a phone off the hook and an ocean. Through creative editing, distinct camera angles, and slow motion, the surrealist film depicts a world in which it is more and more difficult to catch reality.
It has influenced other filmmakers such as David Lynch in
Twin Peaks but was no doubt influenced by Soviet film maker Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin.
The film contains various codes, symbols and metaphors…and makes use of MONTAGE…juxtaposing clashing or contrasting imagery like this…
Luke Fowler employs this concept effectively in his diptychs…
Dreams and surreal imagery have also inspired other photographers and filmmakers such as Jerry Uelsmann, Madame Yevonde, Lara Zankoul, Wes Anderson and Matthew Barney.
You could re-interpret a well know fairy tale or moral, as Tim Walker often does in his work and explore the conventions of story telling and narrative
Look at Mari Mahr, Sophie Calle, and Claude Cahun (Jersey Link).
Still from Meshes of the Afternoon Maya Deren and Alexander Hackenschmied
How to get started …
You must look carefully at the examples given above by researching and reading…comparing and contrasting as you move through the options.
Watch the suggested film clips…and be prepared to explore your ideas in a range of media and then create a set of blog posts that develop the process…
Create a mind-map that incorporates your initial thoughts, ideas and findings in response to SECRETS, CODES and CONVENTIONS
Add a mood-board of relevant images
Add definitions of the words : SECRETS, CODES and CONVENTIONS :what are they ?
Choose at least one artist that you think can be an influence for your ideas…but compare and contrast to others
Plan your first photo shoot
Make a set of images as a response to your plan / artists work
Select, edit and present your images
Compare and contrast to your influence / inspiration
Evaluate your process
Repeat the process in order to review and refine…
You are expected to complete 15-20 Blog posts for the ESA
Week 1 Task : exploring codes and conventions
research and explore the words and possible meanings of secrets codes and conventions and create a blog post or two outlining your findings, and your plan…
apply ONE of these to a specific genre of photography found within the exam booklet
an example of this could be…
Photo – Journalism /
Documentary Photography
Until the mid-twentieth century, documentary photography was a vital way of bearing witness to world events: from shoot-from-the-hip photographs of the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa to the considered portraits of poor farmers by Dorothea Lange.
Documentary photography generally relates to longer term projects with a more complex story line, while photojournalism concerns more breaking news stories. The two approaches often overlap. Some theorists argue that photojournalism, with its close relationship to the news media, is influenced to a greater degree than documentary photography by the need to entertain audiences and even market products.
Technical - Won's pieces are assembled from dozens of cut-up black and white photographs in a process of deconstruction and reconstruction which ultimately creates new monuments from the buildings of London in his own digital sculptures made through the art of photography. The pieces may take hours to construct with digitally combining all the pieces in his puzzles in comparison to one quick snapshot taken in a spontaneous moment, with each part of his pieces cut up and placed to look like they actually exist in the world.
Visual - His work is constantly inspired through the city of London, with many of his pieces featuring famous monuments and buildings taken from our everyday landscape - the car park and escalators weaved into this image holds a sense of reality in a surreal landscape. His pieces defy laws of statics making them more surreal and monumental/sculptural. From architectural photographs and collages he creates urban mirages set in familiar landscapes which is perhaps is the only thing that connects the audience to the monuments.
Conceptual - His made-up monuments are glorified with the combined everyday constructions and artistically generated sculptures that tower above their landscapes which creates an idea of powerful inhuman forces. His work questions the understanding of contemporary photography and human perception.
Photoshoot - I planned to exlpore around La collette and any other industrial or constructional places in town [the gas tower] and churches as they have many towers and turrets with intricate designs. This was to collect enough images of buildings to finally create a digital sculpture based on Beomsik Won's work.
