Monthly Archives: January 2019

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A key image for my photobook

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Whilst out shooting the urban landscapes around Manchester I came across a piece of graffiti that really stood out to me and gained an emotional interaction with myself. I was really inspired by the message the piece told and it linked directly with the political message that I am trying to portray through my book. The few images that i took of the piece of graffiti can be seen below.

I think this artwork is very powerful in spreading the message about the destruction of our planet and how urban areas are leading to our natural environments to fall into myth and memory. This piece of art shows a significance and a reminder that we need to protect our natural land and not let humanity destroy them. This image is also ironic in the way that the artist has destroyed the building with his graffiti yet the political message is to do with a form of destruction. I edited my favorite photos ready to be embedded within my photo book to add impact about my message.

A2 Personal Investigation

Photobook Design Specification

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Narrative: What is your story?
Describe in:

  • 3 words

Surveillance, Watched, Paranoia

  • A sentence

The developments of surveillance are slowly causing a common paranoia amongst those within society.

  • A paragraphs

For this ‘political landscape’ project I am focusing on the theme of surveillance, and how surveillance actually effects the general public, in both positive or negative ways. Particularly how mass surveillance and the ‘big brother theory’ causes a common paranoia and feeling of insecurity within the general public, and how the awareness of this can cause an impact on the public’s trust of authority. The rapid developments in surveillance is also something which is evidently adding to this and will also therefore be explored in my work.

Design: Consider the following

  • How you want your book to look and feel

I would like my book to look and feel of a high and lasting quality, using a hardback cover and premium matte photo paper inside.

  • Paper and ink

I would like matte white paper as I believe that when looking at a range of other photo books this kind of paper has a high quality feel and look. Also this kind of paper works with a range of different images (colour and black & white) and as i intend to use a range of photos with very different aesthetic qualities, I believe that this will work best.

  • Format, size and orientation.

7×7 inch Square

  • Binding and cover

I would like my book to have a standard case binding, and I would like it to have a hardback cover.

  • Title 

”Watch Out”

  • Design and layout

Some images will be best as full page spreads (single or double), some images will look best with boarders and some will look best grouped together, and therefore I am not going to limit myself by completely sticking to one uniformed layout and will instead lay out my photographs in the way which I believe individually best suits them.

  • Editing and sequencing

The sequencing of images in the book I intend to follow a narrative of how surveillance is evolving/developing. So as the book continues the images represent closer and more personal forms of  surveillance, such as surveillance through our own devices. Whereas in the beginning it will look at visual forms of surveillance (birds) and then early forms of technological surveillance (CCTV etc.)

A2 Personal Investigation

Image Analysis – Essay Writing

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Paragraph 2 Structure (500 words) : Use subheading. In the first sentence or opening sentences, link the paragraph to the previous paragraph, then introduce the main idea of the new paragraph. Other sentences develop the paragraphs subject (use relevant examples, quotations, visuals to illustrate your analysis, thoughts etc)

Content: you could look at the following...Introduce your first photographer. Select key images, ideas or concepts and analyse in-depth using specific model of analysis (describe, interpret and evaluate) – refer to your hypothesis. Contextualise…what was going on in the world at the time; artistically, politically, socially, culturally. Other influences…artists, teachers, mentors etc. Personal situations or circumstances…describe key events in the artist’s life that may have influenced the work. Include examples of your own photographs, experiments or early responses and analyse, relate and link to the above. Set the scene for next paragraph.

Include relevant examples, illustrations, details, quotations, and references showing evidence of reading, knowledge and understanding of history, theory and context!

This image depicts the remnants of a partially burnt plastic flower, collected from Carrigaloe estuary, Cove of Cork, Ireland.

  • The item is captured using a slow shutter speed representing the movement of individual plankton in a water column, which also parallels with the planets that have an apparent motion of their own.
  • Captured in a circle on a black background, a re-occuring theme amongst the series, it resembles a planet like

The “plankton” specimens in this work are beautifully photographed objects of marine plastic debris, recovered from the same location as naturalist John Vaughan Thompson’s plankton samples from 200 years ago.

A2 Personal Investigation, AO1 Develop Ideas

Photobook Design Experimentation

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I first started selecting the images I wanted in my photo book by in lightroom by colour rating them into different colours if i wanted to use them. I had an idea of the images I definitely wanted to use in my photobook so rated them green. I then selected other images which I liked and rated them yellow and purple so I could experiment when designing my photobook in lightroom to see which made the best sequence and portrayed a message. This means that I won’t use all the images I’ve rated, but just the ones that combine to make the best photo series.

I then put all the images into a book format and started rearranging them from there instead of before making the book, so I could visually see what the image look like displayed together and which one complement each other. I want the sequence of my book to nt be too overwhelming because within the landscape images there is a lot of detail. To try and stop this i plan to  add in double page spreads of single images between more detailed pages to create a break for the reader. This will also make the double paged images stand out more so I will chose images that I want to be emphasised.

I started my photo book layout by arranging my photos of objects i found on the beach that i formally photographed. I started with theses I knew definitely that i wanted to include these image in my photobook so didn’t have to make decisions about which ones to keep. I decided i wanted a similar layout to Chrystel Lebas in er ‘Field Studies’ book so displayed the original images on the left of the double page spread, with the four edited versions on the right page. I think this layout is effective as it shows the contrast between the originals and the edited versions. One aspect i could improve with these double page spreads are the original images as i don’t like how their is a noticeable border around there the colour of the paper contrasts with the white of the photo book paper. To fix this I made the images full page so that there wasn’t noticeable white borders around the edges.

I also started arranging my landscape photography, starting off by trying to find good combinations of images to go on double page spreads. I decided that i would chose a number of set templates for my photobook so it doesn’t look too unordered so it creates an order that’s easy to look through that has a continuous theme. I decided which images looked good as a double page spread and which looked better as single images. For example, the image taken in my ‘Landscapes at dusk’ shoot looks best as a double page because of its composition as well as the cool tones, the double page adding to the vastness.

Also, because i found myself taking images where the main subject  is centered , I couldn’t include these as double page spreads as in my book some of the image in the middle will be cut because of how the book was made, unless the subject was big enough to not get cut off like in the image above. So for these image i had to find combinations with other portrait images to stick to the templates in chose to use which was one landscape and one portrait image on a double page.

When experimenting with layouts i found i like this combination of the archival image and my modern image as together they connect at the same points, creating the appearance of one image across the double page spread. I think that the contrast between the rounded shape of the image in the right in comparison the the image on the left where theres more detailed in the earth creates an interesting image. Although the image were not taken at the same location at La  Motte (the archival image is of the island whereas mine is a close up of the rock nearby), I think that it creates a juxtaposition of different textures, the archival image is where the earth has fallen apart from the excavation which juxtaposes with the more smooth texture of the rock with the seaweed attached.

I also like how the difference between the archival and modern is emphases by the archival being in black and white compared to the coloured modern one. This makes the brown tones and the pale blue sky in the modern image stand out more. Although, i decided that i didn’t want to use the layout of these tow images together in my photobook as the layout in my book has a full page  image together with another image with a white border, which this layout doesn’t follow so may look out of place. To fix this i could create more double pages like this, but i don’y have enough archival images that connect at the same points to my modern images to make enough page. I will use these images in my photobook, but separately with with different images complementing them.

For this layout, I narrowed the images down to two layouts  that worked best with my image on the right side. The layout on the left has my image displayed full page, with an archival image of a skull on the left page. I think this this combination of images works well as the shape of the bright rock in my image resembles the shape of a skull and is a similar colour. This creates a link between the two image which I think makes a good layout, linking the past to the present. When editing I brightened the rock so it was more noticeable, which i think also makes the link more noticeable. I also like the contrast in the background of the two images. The archival image has a lack background as it’s a formally taken photo, this then contrast to the background of my image which is brown rocks, adding more detail to the image. The dark parts and shadows in my image link to the black background of the archival one, which i think makes them complement each other. There is also a mystery surrounding the archival image about who’s skull is displayed in the image as the skull belonged to somebody over 90 years ago, the rock also belonged to the land along time ago.

The second layout is another landscape image i took from a different shoot. In this shoot the lighting was different so the appearance of this rock different as it has warmer tones where the brown is emphasised with more yellow tones. This contrasts worth the image on the right where the warm tones are less noticeable, the town more darker. Another reason i think these images complement each other is they both have noticeable dark lines highlighting the shape and texture of the rock, linking them. The lines in each image are detailed, but have similar shapes to each other and the combination the two makes the layout seem more modern through he warm colours and the shapes resembling that of abstract, especially in the left image where i took a close up angle. Using this image also emphasises the highlights in the right image as it’s brighter.

Comparing the two layouts I decided that I will chose the layout comparing the skull to my image as i think it represent the concept of my project more. he archival image contrasting to the modern image addresses how the natural landscape changes an evolves over time.

Text in Book

La Motte is a tidal island, and listed archaeological site, also known as Green Island, located in the Vingtaine de Samarès in the parish of St Clement on the south-east coast of Jersey, Channel Islands.

Archaeological excavations carried out between 1911 and 1914 showed that the islet had been occupied over a long period of time. Despite being quite small the site is unusual because it had several both ritual and domestic elements, as well as providing important environmental evidence relating to changes in sea level. The remains of a series of prehistoric rubbish heaps, dating between 1,500-300 BC, containing fragments of pottery, animal bones, stone tools and shells were found.

Some archaeological evidence has been found here. Remains of a cemetery on La Motte are believed to be from later settlers. There are Neolithic elements including a cairn and a number of middens, dating from 1500 BC to 300 BC, on La Motte.

I think including text about La Motte gives the reader insight into the images their looking at as they might not know where ‘La Motte’ is as it’s more commonly known as Green Island. I also think that it reflect the work of Chrystel Lebas in her photobook ‘Field Studies’ as she also includes text about the places she visits. In her book she also includes 3 essays from others about the environment to back up her images. I decided not to include long passages in my photobook I didn’t want to take the attention of the readers away from the images, so included a few short passages to help inform them about the project, but not completely distract them away from the main concept.

Analysis, Essay

IMAGE ANALYSIS – essay

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This photograph is very simply constructed, with a simple background, lighting and colour palette that connote clinical and clean environments, representing certain aspects of the beauty industry. From an audiences perspective, by Miyaziki looking directly at the viewer, it seems like an intrusion of privacy and gives the unwanted impression of scopophilia while also, Miyazaki has caught the audience out on the act of peering in on her. The direction of light also adds to the the illusion of intrusion. The light hits the subjects front on and from the same direction of the viewer.

This self portrait was taken by Japanese working artist Izumi Miyazaki which simply depicts her turning to look at the camera while peeling an apple with a pink razor blade. This simple and abstract action carries different connotations of a ‘traditional’ female role; the razor blade and the apple, blending two sides of a suppressed and idealized female; beauty and domestic life. The razor blade is a tool used by many women to remove their natural hair on their own bodies, simply because of beauty standards that have been created all around the world in different societies that are constantly reinforced by advertising and the media. The apple could indicate the suppressed domestic female role, an idealized role depicted throughout history, particularly post WW2 in western society. Women had experienced working in dominated male industries due to the lack of workers because of the war,  yet when the war was over many women were pushed out of work and subliminally forced to stay in their traditional domestic roles through advertisements commissioned by the Government.  These advertisements conveyed women satisfied, content and happy from everyday domestic appliances that seemed to make their domestic lives easier, for example a dishwasher. These advertisements were aimed at women, reinforcing pre war mindsets and attitudes towards women and setting ideologies of their roles in society. As a female from a western society, these are the sort of connotations I receive from Miyakzaki’s picture, a blend of two dominant ideologies based around women thrown together with a bi-product of humor – commenting on the ridiculousness of these standards. Attitudes towards women and feminism has changed radically since the beginnings of its movement, the fight for equality between the two sexes are not seen as urgent as they used to. The word feminism is constantly disregarded by everyone due to the change of meaning the word now carries. Although its definition hasn’t changed, the word has been misused and it now carries a bad reputation. I don’t think Miyazaki has purposely created this image with a feminist message, most contemporary photographers will comment of blatantly obvious issues in the world. Attaching the word feminist to any piece of art usually disrupts the incentive of the image as the meaning of the word has been disrupted itself.

 

A2 Personal Investigation, AO1 Develop Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Photoshoot 6- Landscapes

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For this photo shoot i went back to La Motte to gather more objects that I thought represented what was there now to compare with archival images. I narrowed these images down and displayed them in a contact sheet above.  Whilst i was there I also took additional landscape photos as the weather was different to what my other landscape images had been take in. From the photos I took, I displayed the final landscape images and studio images separately in two parts below.

Part 1- Landscapes

I particularly like these two images from this shoot as they have a different atmosphere to the other images in my project. The bright blue sky that’s behind the rocks and horizon, contrasts with the tones in the foreground in both images. When editing these images I will emphasise the contrast between the two colours. In the first image I was drawn to the  unusual shape that the rock made along the top and the detailed sharp edges within it. I wanted to emphases the chaotic nature of the pattern, so contrasted it with the plain blue sky on the top half of the image, splitting the image in two. In the second image I wanted to emphases the developments that have been built along the horizon to contrast with the archival images from over 90 years ago when they were there. This is why I centered the image so that the incinerator was were the eyes are drawn to. I found I also created the same composition in this image as the first image, where the patterned bottom half of the image is contrasted to the blue sky.

I found that when I am taking photos I takes ones where the main subject is in the center of the image, creating a symmetrical composition.  In my photo book I plan to space out the images where I centered an aspect of the photo, so that they create more impact by themselves.

Other images from the shoot:

In these portrait images I tried to emphasise the shadows the that were made by the rocks. I particularly like the third image where i take a close up image of the pattern on a rock, highlighting the light and dark. I think that this image contrasts well with the other landscape images as it shows a close up angles contrasts with a wide one. In all the images, I wanted to focus on one section or a rock or the earth and emphasise it, which is why the objects all continue out of the sides of the photos.

Editing:

When editing these landscape images in photoshop I found that they were most effective when they were black and white. I experimented by editing a couple of them this way and compared them to the originals.

As well as turning the images black and white, I also adjusted the contrast and the white and black to find what made the image look the most aesthetically pleasing.

I think these two images in particular are the most effective in black and white as the detailed patterns that were originally there stand out even more. The different tones in the sky are more noticeable and are emphasised by the contrast to the rocks. Whilst editing I also used the grauduated filter to make the sky have more of a range of tones so that the final image was more vast and dramatic.

Although I like my black and white edits where I’ve emphasised the light and dark, I think that my final images for this project should be in colour as the archival images I have chosen to include in my photo book are in black and white. If my images were also in black and white the reader might get confused as to which ones are the modern ones that I took.

Part 2- Objects Experimentation

For the images photographed in a studio I edited them on photoshop. I first inverted the image to create the appearance of a photogram, simialr to Chrystel Lebas and Edward James Salisbury. I like this editing style as in my previous experiments from different shoots I found that the final images reflect the work of the early botanists where they used light sensitive paper which gives my images a scientific appearance. Instead of using natural objects i.e plants and seaweed, in this shoot I photographed  man made objects to represent the changed environment in my work. Comparing these photos to that of early botanists show how what is found has changed over the period of 100 years and reflects the ideas of anthropocene. Secondly, I adjusted the levcels in my image so that the background was darker to contrast against the objects. I then adjusted the hue of the images so that that I could create different variations of the same image to see which one was the most effective. I displayed these variations below in a grid format. I also adjusted the levels in each image to brighten the obejcts and make the background darker.

From these variations of the same images, I think that the most effective image edited in the bottom row as I like the use of negative space within the circle shape the rope is making. I also like how the background in these images is completely black, taking the attention and focusing on the objects. The other edited images do this but have grey tones within this so distract the audience form the main subjects. Although I do like how the top rown images have a different appearance to the other. The bottom row shows exactly whats the object is, the appearance being more scientific, whereas in the top row it is harder to distinguish what the object is, perhaps making the overall image more interesting. This is through the lighter shapes surrounding the rope, which is the shadows inverted that were created when I photographed the images. I created shadows purposefully when photographing these objects as I wanted to see the effect it created when I inverted the images. Compared to the bottom row images, I think that they have a more delicate appearance as the shapes created are more rounded and go in multiple directions.  In conclusion, I think that all the images are effective as they show different aspects of the same objects at different sections of it. In my photo book I will include a few variations of these images to interpret the work of Chrystel Lebas in her photo book ‘Field Studies’ where she include photograms.

For another object experimentation I decided to use all of the objects I had collected over the shoots I have previously done ans combine them with the objects I found in this shoot. I think that this is a good way of showing the changed environment and I thought that it could be a good image to end my photo book with.  When arranging the objects, I first put the rope in a circle shape as this is the biggest object and the one that stands out the most. I then started placing the other objects around the shape of the rope, going in the same directions. I think that the combination of the natural obejcts e.g rocks, plants, flowers, seaweed in comparison to the main subjects the rope, creates an interesting image as it separates them as there is a divide in the center of the image, created by the rope.

I then went on to experiment with this image by editing the colour and tones within it. I tried to use warm and cold colours to see which was the most effective. Out of these edits I think that the black and white image is the most effective. This is because the shapes and shadows are emphasised as well as the negative space. Although in this image it is harder to see what objects are being photographed as they are all arranged so close together. In the orange/yellow toned image it is easier to tell what the objects are as the edit brightens the objects and the colours within them. In conclusion, I’ve decided that I won’t use this image in my photo book as I think it is too different from my other formally taken images and won’t create an easy sequence to look at. Also I like how in my other images I have displayed the objects by themselves to create a scientific appearance, like what botanists do when they are analysising species. In this image you cannot tell what each o f the objects are clearly and doesn’t follow the scientific approach I have been following throughout my project.

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Sophie Calle Image Analysis

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Image from Suite Venitienne

The image above is from Sophie Calle’s Suite Venitienne. The image is of a man in a suit, walking in between old-looking columns and arches. He is turned away from the camera so we cannot see his face and the image seems to be taken from a ‘hiding spot’; with the man most likely unaware that he is being photographed. The photo can be described as rather sinister, mysterious and invasive. The genre of this image is most likely documentary, with a possible hint of street photography. It is a naturalistic image, imitating real events instead of a staged ones. The photograph is taken outside but from the shadows, looking out – therefore the lighting is predominately natural. Due to its black and white nature, white balance and the actual colours/tones remain a mystery to the audience. Though, using an online tool, it is possible to colorize and convert the image to its original colours. The original, warm colours hint at a cloudy/shade white balance and a little bit of over-exposure. In reference Ansel Adams’ tonal range, this image is very successful, it captures the blackest black and explores different tones up to the whitest white. Calle would have used a standard 50mm lens to be able to capture the man in full focus from her distance and blur her foreground completely. Though, she mentions in her book, Suite Venitienne, that she owns a Squintar – which is a specific lens that allows the photographer to take a picture of the subject without directly pointing the camera at them. In addition, because of the advantage of natural lighting and sharpness of the lines, it’s likely that Calle used very short shutter speed to capture the image. The image has a certain degree of grain to it but that is most likely from the camera and scanning processes rather than the photograph itself, hence the ISO value used would be low. Visually, the image is peaceful in terms of composition – containing very linear shapes in the columns, windows and street. 

The image follows the golden ratio – drawing our eyes to the subject. The gold ratio generally allows compositions to appear more natural and pleasing to the eye; many studies show that our brain will subconsciously pick images that follow the golden ratio over ones that do not. I know that this image was taken in Venice, the subject is Henri. B,  and this image is one out of many Calle has taken following him around. To a viewer who has read the book, the image may feel creepy, disturbing and intrusive as Sophie Calle has taken countless photographs like this one, ones that impose on the day-to-day life of Henri.B. To the larger, unaware audience this image may seem like a perfect, heat of the moment shot. Though still sinister and perhaps a little intrusive, the unaware audience would write this image off as a one-off image – not expecting the same subject to keep appearing. The images for Suite Venitienne were taken during 1980, this particular one has the date of February the 19th.

 

 

A2 Personal Investigation

Analysing a Sophie Calle Photograph (Essay work)

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Sophie Calle – Suite Vénitienne 

Technical:

The lighting used for this photograph is natural daylight as the photo does not seem to be staged despite the unusual occurrences within the image. The image was most likely taken in the aside of it being midday as the light is not overpowering, and the exposure used for the image seems to be fairly balanced as the lighter tones such as the edges of the steps are balanced and contrast with the darker tones in the image such as the door and the coated man by the camera.

Visual:

The photograph has various visual aspects starting with the composition; the viewer is immediately drawn to the dark figure in the forefront of the frame as the figure takes up a considerable bit of space and catches your eye straight away. The eye of the viewer is likely to go from their backwards through the image passing from the stairs to the two other people, to the door and then to the background of the image where the buildings overlook the Venice canals.  As you can see the image is in black and white, most likely due to the date of the project despite colour photography being around at the time. However this may have been done as a means of creating a mysterious or eerie feel to the photographs as the idea of following a stranger around reflects this.

Contextual:

This image was part of a book by Calle called Suite Vénitienne, in which she met a man, at a party who said he was moving to Venice, so she moved to Venice and there, she began to follow him. Calle documented her attempts at following the man. She phoned hundreds of hotels, even visited the police station, to find out where it was that he was staying, and persuaded a woman who lived opposite to let her photograph him from her window. The photographs which she took for this project show the back of a coated man as he walks around Venice, the city making for a beautiful aesthetic backdrop to her internalized mission.

Conceptual:

The concept behind this photograph, as a part of project consisting of similar images, is that it is documenting the process of Calle stalking the man (subject) around Venice. This photograph however focuses on multiple human subjects despite the main body of the project consisting of the man in question being the main subject within the images.

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Further Experiment from Long Exposure Shots

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Although I was somewhat satisfied with my long exposure shoot inspired by Darren Almond, I wanted to create a more fantasy representation of the land. I wanted to do this to try and exxagerate the beauty of the natural landscape to influence the viewer of how we should treat the land to preserve it and keep it like this. So, using the images from the previous shoot and others I had collated, I have created a series of images that represent a utopian view on the environment. They display my views on how the world is and should be kept thus being naturally beautiful. This conflicts with some of the current situations in the world of high demand for urbanization. Therefore these images act as a statement to show people what we are destroying and to try and influence them to contribute to the prevention of natural destruction.

Before 

After  

Before

After

Editing Process

I think both of these edits have been very successful in creating the fantasy landscape like I intended. The deep blue tones throughout  give a dreamy mood which helps to influence the viewer that the natural land is a beautiful thing. I think the long exposure shots in the first place really helped to bring a fantasy element to the overall edit as in real life you cannot view the ocean in this way. By downloading Photoshop brushes i was able to construct the clouds in the sky as well as the stars in the sky itself too.

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Further Experimenting with Long Exposure Shots 2

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From my previous shoot I really wanted to exaggerate the beauty of the natural environment whilst keeping to the theory of the sublime. By having harsh shadows and high clarity within the rocks, this allowed a juxtaposition with the soft sky and sea. Thus creating the aesthetic of beauty and danger embedded into one scene creating a sublime photograph. For the first image i replaced the sky with a sunset image from another shoot and adjusted the rest of the image in relation to this. For the second image I masked in the stack on the side as i felt this gives a m,ore surreal atmosphere which creates a more interesting concept. Within the last image i added in a stock photo of the moon whilst adding the red light on the edge of it and creating an overall nighttime feel to the image that finished it off with a dreamy feel.