When using collage I wanted to combine different layering of colours, physical collage and photoshop editing. The first images I wanted to combine an essence of the people who live in the area and the area itself, I wanted the hand to form a different tone of vibrancy and show an almost grabbing effect. I used two different examples collaging colour edits with more less saturated images. The next collages I waned to combine different aspects of St Helier and combine them into a large piece all layered on top of each other.
Monthly Archives: June 2018
Filters
Collage Edits
Once the base shoots were done I then wanted to proceed into editing certain images in different styles to explore the effect they had on the presentation of how I saw my area of St Helier. To do this I used a process of inverted collages where I overlapped two images on top of each other (one being inverted) and cropping the un-inverted image into a shape which is placed in the exact same area of the other image. I found that the results of this were quite successful as they defined a more black and white world that I saw the development of St Helier in, whilst presenting them in a more abstract and unique way than they were originally. Here was the process that I went through along with the final outcomes of the edit: Using either the circular or square highlighter I positioned the shape anywhere on the image, choosing to do the center because of the symmetry it would create from the overall picture. Once I was happy with the shape placement I then proceeded to press Ctrl + I, by doing this it would convert the area inside of the shape into inverted colours making an abstract effect to the piece from the layered filters.
After this I used the effect on various images from the shoot to see how the lighting would affect the outcome, these were my results from the experiment:
I found that after editing each image that using shapes to invert certain areas was most effective as it allowed for a more abstract impression on the picture due to it attempting to reflect the shape of the object itself. To me this produced aesthetically pleasing result as the colours used were polar opposites but at the same time complimented each other.
St Helier Grey Area Shoot #2
A week after my previous grey area shoot, I decided to revisit the area in order to develop certain areas in my photos whilst exploring varying styles I thought were effective. Once again I would need to create a mind-map as a basis for my ideas and designs, providing an insight into how my ideas and composure should look and present itself:Once this was completed I then went ahead with the actual shoot, keeping in mind the areas of focus I intended to be centered around whilst trying to explore new areas and re-visiting the old ones, these were my outcomes: After the shoot had finished, I went home and developed certain images I believed to be my best out of the entire batch, cutting the selection down to the ten most successful ones. By doing this it would allow me to identify and progress in my analytical response towards the descriptions and methods used in various images. To do this I would have to see how the images selected could relate to the topic of Master Plan ‘Development of Jersey’ , so that a clear message could be sent on my perspective of the direction Jersey is heading. These were the results of the top ten images I thought were the most effective from the shoot:Once done I then moved onto the selection of my five best images from this mood board, when doing this I will proceed to go in-depth and analyze each image to how they could relate to the topic, and the technical and visual aspects which I found to be most effective. These were my choices: I found that within this image, contrasting shades between the light emerging into the tunnel and the dimly lit symmetrical lights produced an aesthetic result. This is done through the composition of how the lights diagonally slant across the screen filling up what otherwise would be blank space, but by doing so it creates an abstract result as the origin of the lights are hidden from the flash of white at the end of the tunnel. I found that the lack of any other colour in the picture really produced quite a stark and bare image, with the main focus being on this sort of hollow and abandoned tunnel, allowing for a sense of otherworldly representation. I selected this image into my top five because the clear and contrasted definition between the looming dark sky and the old building. I found this to be particularly effective because of how the gradient from the sky descending onto the building can be interpreted as a reflection regarding the design of town, where structurally, there is no real view that the town planners are heading towards, and are instead blindly fumbling into financial growth. The clarity of the clouds above seen as dark and foreboding, highlighted the sky above and the foundations of the building below, and so reduces the blank space whilst making the building itself the focal point of the picture.
What I loved about this image was the two point perspective that the image only allowed you to view it as. Done by inverting the colours into only black and white, I found the it presented a rather abstracts but aesthetically pleasing result, with the various lines and smudges created by the white adding definition whilst making use of the black space. By making it hard to find out what is in the image I intended to force the viewer to inspect it more closely, with upon further inspection the shapes of the dog and the people can be made out, opposed to from a distance. The stone wall within this image, alongside the high saturation to bring out the colour can be interpreted as a reflection of the historic buildings scattered around the island. With the windows representing peeping holds from bunkers, I found that images abstract look represented well with the randomly diverse designs of buildings located in town. This to me is a criticism on how ill planned much of the development has undergone, with historical themed buildings being placed in out of placed areas. However the use of a black faded border really helped break the up repetitive symmetry that the image presented, making use of the darkness to push the brown and grey colours out.Finally this image was chosen because of the high shutter speed used to fade the design of the metallic structure into the white sky above. But doing this a clear definition has been made between the beams of the building and the glass panes between, making an abstract result in the process. This is accompanied by the symmetry of the building which fills the majority of blank space whilst making the simplicity of it pleasing to the eyes. To me this type of building commonly reflected the designs that the majority of buildings had in town, portraying them as glass castle buttresses.
After analyzing each image I decided I had enough judgement to select the best image out of the shoot that I think reflected and portrayed the aims of the shoot the best. To do this I would take into consideration the techniques within the picture and the elements that could be interpreted as representing the future of St Helier. This was my final decision for the shoot:I selected this image as the overall most successful photography from the shoot because of the simplicity but effectiveness that it carried, whilst also putting across the message I wished to use when discussing the future of St Helier. Done through the use of two shades, black and white, it highlighted how the business world could be portrayed to many in Jersey, as from a distance it can be just a mix of random shapes, but upon inspection find whats actually there and how we rely on it for our islands development. The focal point of the picture to me is the dog and the man walking it, accompanied by the line symmetrically defining it, is presents an aesthetically pleasing result, alongside the darkened grey which neutralized the blank space.
Colour Edits
For this post I will be using saturation and colour adjustment effects to change the appearance of various photographs taken. By doing this I intend to try and change the mood and atmosphere that each picture has, to see if it will have much of an effect on how we perceive areas of town. To do this I will be using Photoshop as in my opinion it provides the best options to do so, whilst showing the process of how I used settings to change the presentation of photos along with the final results. Here is my process:When searching through my images I tried to pick one that had a significant dominance of a specific colour, by doing this it would enable me to change certain aspects of the appearance altering the mood and presentation of it as a result.
When in the saturation tab I would use the hue bar to determine what colour I wanted to change the image too, when this happened the pictures overall colour (in the case purple) would turn to blue.
When finished I moved onto picking the photos which I though would best change the overall appearance of them, whether it be just windows or the actual lighting itself. These were my result:
When editing this selection of pictures I found that the lighting of them drastically changed the atmosphere each one had, with red lights giving off a more dominant feel and the green ones being very underlying.
Black and White Edit
Within this post I will be exploring the use of a black and white filter to emphasize or change the overall feel of individual images. By doing this I intend to highlight the lack of structure that its presented by the area of St Helier, as it will convert the images back into two shades whilst bringing an entirely new perspective of my original images. Using Lightroom, I will mess around with the exposure and contrast especially to see how they can pinpoint features of buildings that define the area or criticise it. Here is the process that I went through to convert each images, and the setting I used in each one to change the lighting along with the final results: Firstly within Adobe Lightroom I would locate the image I wanted and select the develop tab in the top right. From here it would allow access to the black and white colour filter selection which would enable me to change the photo. Once done I would mess around with the adjustments that the coloured selection would allow me, such as the contrast and brightness. By doing this the overall image is changed as certain features are highlighted more than they would have necessarily had if in colour.
After I had explored the settings within the black and white adjustment area I decided to use a few more images to find how effective the results would be in contrast to the original coloured pictures.
Here are some of my results:
When editing each of the images I found that by using a black and white filter, it brings out the shades and highlights within each individual picture. It also balanced the images out as all overpowering colours were transformed into neutral shades.
Theme
St Helier Grey Area Shoot #1
Once I was satisfied with my research regarding the given area to explore, I decided that it was time to move onto the shoot itself. When put into groups for the given area I came to the conclusion I would use a mind-map I made earlier to help direct my interests and intentions quickly towards what I wanted, by doing so it would allow more time for photographing rather than attempting to figure out what I wanted. Here are my ideas:From here I went ahead with the shoot focusing purely on what I wanted to reflect from the assigned area of town, here are my pictures from the first St Helier photography shoot:
After reviewing my images taken on the shoot I decided to whittle them down to a section of the top ten images that I thought were overall the most successful pieces out of the whole batch. This would allow the process to identify the key images to use for Master plan Jersey easier whilst developing my skills on of being harsh on myself and clearly understanding which pictures are most effective. This was my top ten selection of images I thought best represented the shoot:
Once done I then proceeded to move onto turning those ten images into five, which I would then go onto analyze the aspects in each one which made them more successful than the others that they were separated from. Here are my decisions:
The reason I selected this image was because of the contrast between the single coloured source of light and the darkness surrounding the rest of the piece. This was made particularly effective from how the indents within the chair highlighted holes which allowed them to become reflective and a key element in the photo. The result is very abstract and so is not definite what it is meant to be, creating a kind of pattern that is carefully put together. I chose this picture because of the broken symmetry present within the left hand side of the picture. I found that the boring backdrop of two contrast oranges is complemented by the green opposing tree which breaks the piece up to become aesthetically pleasing to the viewers. The exposure in the photo highlights the wall, whilst creating a dark shadow to the tree making it stand out consequentially.
I found that the range of colours in the picture all complemented each other against the bleak sky above. The use of a slanted urban landscape creates an aesthetically pleasing result through the use of blank space which stops the vivid coloured concrete from overpowering the entire picture. There is some use of symmetry which is present through the left and right of the photograph, where half is urban and the rest is natural which can relate to the topic of Masterplan. What I liked about this photo is the use of a depth of field which centers into the middle of the piece. This creates a high form of aestheticism for the viewer as it prevents any eye-sore from occurring through any part of the image, this is also complemented by the use of a dark border which boxes the purples in and centralizes attention to the lights in the middle. The colours present within do work well with each other as only black, white and purple are present with odd tints of blue which create a sparking abstract result overall. The photograph of the door to me was well composed composition wise, this is became of the continuous use of symmetry present throughout the image. The straight vertical and parallel lines within are complimented by the contrast colours of red, orange and blue, all which and blended together through the use of a black darkened border. I found that the red concrete streak on the right broke up the image from being too bland and overpowered by the blues, and so really balanced it out as a result.
After analyzing each of my top five images, I had decided that I would be able to come to a conclusion of which image I thought was the most effective out of my entire first shoot. I would have to choose this image based on the composition, colours and the overall relevance to the topic of the development within Jersey, this was my final choice:
The reason I selected this as the final image for my shoot, which I thought best reflected the overall result from the future of St Helier was this image of a chair. I found that this perfectly reflected how abstract certain parts of the town were, as much of the urban areas were really contrasted against bright unique colours of random buildings. In my opinion this image represented how such vivid colours seemed out-of-place for what it was in the environment, as the chair seemed to be just dotted randomly in the middle of the darkness without any purpose or intention, much like the use of construction within St Helier. The image itself is complemented through the composition, contrasting colours, and use of a dark border to create a sense of mystery and abstract to the design which I found really brought it out as a whole.
Editing and Selecting images
With all of my images I made a selection of my strongest images, I narrowed down my selection by comparing lighting, composition etc. With this image image I decided to go with the one on the left as there was a few composition and lighting things that i preferred about it, for example I compared to the image on the right the flag that is being waved is more clear on the left photo whereas you cannot clearly see that it is a flag on the left photo, also I prefer the lighting of the man on the left photo, even though in the right you can more clearly see the man the left photo creates more mystery with the man being barely visible in a dark pub seemingly watching the football.
St. Helier shoot 3
For this last shoot,I went to a buildings site and I wanted to concentrate on the old vs new St Helier and the modernisation and what has to happen to town.
When going to the property development site,there was a different attitude of st helier,which was less centered around community but more around making life better for others with new morden living conditions and to them making an old abandoned area Morer beautiful and becoming more futuristic in st helier. I agree with this.I think development is important because it makes many jobs for people within jersey and foreigners.They all have the same aspiration to make jersey a better place.
My Area To Photograph
The area assigned for me to research and later photograph is the zone in yellow. This area consists of millennium park which is a very modern aspect to the area as well as the old jersey brewery which contrasts nicely as this is an old derict building. There are various landmarks and people which will be of interest to photograph. The different landmarks such as the old cinema will help to give a sense of the old vs new within St. Helier and the people will give a sense of the lifestyle and community within the area.
My intentions for the photo shoot is to not only explore and portray the area in the way I percieve it to be but to also capture a sense of what the area once was and could be in the future. I intend to focus on three main elements. This will be the community, the history of the area and the modernization/future of it.