Keld Helmer Petersen - A danish Photographer who focused on shapes and kept his photographs very minimal. Some of his work uses very high contrasts. This moves the focus to the shapes and structures in each photo and strips away all the tones and shadows that a camera would usually capture.
I used this technique on the images below by using Photoshop. I used 'threshold' and changed the levels of black and white that you could see in the image. I then inverted the image to see the opposite of the images. I also added colour instead of black for a similar effect however it looks more like to pop art:
Contextual
The Purpose of the collection 'The Americans' is to document American society - higher and lower strata.
The selection of photographs are a combination of street photography, portraits and documentary. The time of this photograph was a time when higher social classes over-ruled lower classes - African-Americans fell into the lower classes and because of their race, were segregated from white people.
Robert Frank - Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker:'Trolley, New Orleans', 1955.
Visual
In this photograph a selection of people sit, and are naturally framed by the white bars of the trolley - this could be viewed as a series of separate portraits. The rule of thirds brings the focus to the middle third of the photograph. The windows of the bus are directly on the center lines which naturally draws the attention to the people in the bus. This photograph clearly demonstrates the divide/segregation between the social classes.
Technical
The photograph was most likely to have been a very quick snapshot with little thinking time about the image. With these assumptions the photograph would have been shot with a fast shutter speed due to the clarity of what would have been a fast moving object.
There is a high contrast in tonal range which creates a deep image with many layers - the darker foreground and the lighter background behind the bus. The reflections in the top windows suggest that the light was shining towards/on the object which is why there is a lot of tones and depth.
Conceptual
I believe Robert Frank selected this photograph because of how much it represented the social hierarchy at the time. The photograph clearly documents the segregation between races - white people at the front of the bus and black people at the back. The white bars that frame each portrait of the individuals also symbolizes this. The white bars in the photograph are very bold and stand out a lot, due to the high tonal range and contrast of the dark bus. The white makes a bold statement of the authority and power white people had over black people and reinforces segregation between the two races.
FOCAL LENGTH / DEPTH OF FIELD / FOCUS
Focal length is represented in mm. It is a calculation between the focal point - where the light rays converge to form a sharp image - and the digital sensor / film
The focal length tells you how much of the view will be captured; the bigger the focal length, the narrower the view and higher the magnification - how much the camera is zoomed in.
You can adjust focal length by twisting the lens of the camera.
Depth of field
Definition: the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused image.
There are two types of depth; shallow and deep. Shallow focuses on a closer object / subject while the background image is out of focus creating a blurred effect. Deep depth of field focuses on the whole frame so everything in the photograph is in focus.
Aperture is used for depth of field. A smaller aperture [f22] focuses on the whole frame and a bigger aperture [f2.4] focuses on a particular object in the frame and blurring out the rest.
Focus and focus points
Focus allows the camera to take a picture in detail. A sharp focus will produce a photograph with sharp detail in the whole frame or a point in the frame. A soft focus produces the opposite effect.
The point of focus can be changed by aiming the camera at what you would like to focus or changing the settings. The point of focus can be changed by pressing the AF button where 9 dots are displayed on the display screen. Choosing different points changes what the camera focuses on.
In the first edit I added a blur effect over the whole image as a layer, then removed what i wanted to be in focus and kept what I wanted to be blurred.
In the second edit I created a rectangular shape and filled it with colour. This is a simple yet effective edit.
In the third edit I copied the image and rotated the image on its side. I then used the paintbrush to make the photograph seem like it is fading away.
The Zone System is a technique that was formulated by Ansel Adams and Fred Archer. It is an approach to a standardized way of working that guarantees a correct exposure in every situation, even in the trickiest lighting conditions such as back lighting, extreme difference between light and shadow areas of a scene.
I've used the Zone system to edit my own photos so I can get the perfect balance in tones.
I used Photoshop to change contrast, hue and saturation to get a wider range of shades to finish with a perfect image with many tones.
Paul Strand - was an American photographer and filmmaker who helped establish photography as an art in the 20th century.
Although Strand's Photographs lack colour, they still contain a wide range of tones and shades and a great sense of depth, even in his simplest photos.
I like these photographs because of the symmetry, pattern and shapes that are found in each of the images. These scenes are seen all the time in everyday life - each photo grants a satisfaction in the simple and basic shapes, set-ups and man-made structures.
Each of these photos hold a sense of stillness in the frame and transmits a feeling of tranquility/content.
Brett Weston - Brett Weston was an American photographer. His work gives the same sense of stillness and focuses on natural/man-made shapes and forms - the second photograph's stillness is broken with the man passing the through the frame. Weston's photos are simple and complex - with complex shapes and layers.
This first picture has a cluster of forms and rigid lines and demonstrates high contrasts between black and white. The last photograph has less in it - a simpler photo but also contains textures in the roof with its many ridges.
Plan - go out and take pictures of rigid shapes and forms in man made structures / simple pictures of everyday structures, look at buildings and pipes
my photographs -
Best Photographs - I chose the simplest images because it helps to keep the focus on one point of the image. Each of these photographs are minimal which creates a sense of satisfaction. I chose to not have colour in the images so I could of focus on the tones in the image while still keeping the images basic and minimal.
ISO measures the sensitivity of the image sensor; this is measured in numbers [100,200,300]
Higher ISO settings are generally used in darker situations to get faster shutter speeds - however the higher the ISO the noisier the shots The lower the number the less sensitive the camera is to light and the finer the grain e.g a low IOS setting will be used when there is plenty of light and the subject is stationary
This is a contact sheet, it's used to present multiple photos at once to select and refine the best photos
This contact sheet shows the different white balance settings. White balance changes the colour balance in a photograph - so white objects appear white
If lighting and colour is too warm a cooler filter can be used to balance the white - etc
There is not a lot of white in these photographs to properly demonstrate the use of white balance
making a contact sheet:
open bridge and select your chosen photos
select tools; Photoshop; contact sheet
once Photoshop is opened select the amount of columns and rows
These are the photos that caught my eye. Patszch has captured extreme detail in objects that have repetitive patterns; the snake has many scales, many petals, many tracks, intricate lines in the mushroom, columns of rock formed closely together. Some of his photographs are tricky to work out because they have been shot in macro; creating an abstract picture.
I came across a cliff in Iceland on the black beach. The cliff had many repetitive shapes and symmetry naturally formed by the cooling of lava. This reminded me of Patszch’s photograph of rock columns
This is a Glacier. The Glacier had many sharp and rigid edges that created many layers in each photograph and added shadows. Contrast in black and white shapes in the ice created extra depth
These flowers have many folds in the petals; many shapes and shadows. There symmetry and complex shapes caught my eye – a close up of these pictures would create an abstract photograph
Final edits
I used this technique on the images below by using Photoshop. I used 'threshold' and changed the levels of black and white that you could see in the image. I then inverted the image to see the opposite of the images. I also added colour instead of black for a similar effect however it looks more like to pop art:
Robert Frank - Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker:'Trolley, New Orleans', 1955. Visual In this photograph a selection of people sit, and are naturally framed by the white bars of the trolley - this could be viewed as a series of separate portraits. The rule of thirds brings the focus to the middle third of the photograph. The windows of the bus are directly on the center lines which naturally draws the attention to the people in the bus. This photograph clearly demonstrates the divide/segregation between the social classes. Technical The photograph was most likely to have been a very quick snapshot with little thinking time about the image. With these assumptions the photograph would have been shot with a fast shutter speed due to the clarity of what would have been a fast moving object. There is a high contrast in tonal range which creates a deep image with many layers - the darker foreground and the lighter background behind the bus. The reflections in the top windows suggest that the light was shining towards/on the object which is why there is a lot of tones and depth. Conceptual I believe Robert Frank selected this photograph because of how much it represented the social hierarchy at the time. The photograph clearly documents the segregation between races - white people at the front of the bus and black people at the back. The white bars that frame each portrait of the individuals also symbolizes this. The white bars in the photograph are very bold and stand out a lot, due to the high tonal range and contrast of the dark bus. The white makes a bold statement of the authority and power white people had over black people and reinforces segregation between the two races.
Depth of field Definition: the distance between the nearest and the furthest objects giving a focused image. There are two types of depth; shallow and deep. Shallow focuses on a closer object / subject while the background image is out of focus creating a blurred effect. Deep depth of field focuses on the whole frame so everything in the photograph is in focus. Aperture is used for depth of field. A smaller aperture [f22] focuses on the whole frame and a bigger aperture [f2.4] focuses on a particular object in the frame and blurring out the rest. Focus and focus points Focus allows the camera to take a picture in detail. A sharp focus will produce a photograph with sharp detail in the whole frame or a point in the frame. A soft focus produces the opposite effect. The point of focus can be changed by aiming the camera at what you would like to focus or changing the settings. The point of focus can be changed by pressing the AF button where 9 dots are displayed on the display screen. Choosing different points changes what the camera focuses on.
In the first edit I added a blur effect over the whole image as a layer, then removed what i wanted to be in focus and kept what I wanted to be blurred. In the second edit I created a rectangular shape and filled it with colour. This is a simple yet effective edit. In the third edit I copied the image and rotated the image on its side. I then used the paintbrush to make the photograph seem like it is fading away.
I've used the Zone system to edit my own photos so I can get the perfect balance in tones. I used Photoshop to change contrast, hue and saturation to get a wider range of shades to finish with a perfect image with many tones.
Brett Weston - Brett Weston was an American photographer. His work gives the same sense of stillness and focuses on natural/man-made shapes and forms - the second photograph's stillness is broken with the man passing the through the frame. Weston's photos are simple and complex - with complex shapes and layers. This first picture has a cluster of forms and rigid lines and demonstrates high contrasts between black and white. The last photograph has less in it - a simpler photo but also contains textures in the roof with its many ridges.
Best Photographs - I chose the simplest images because it helps to keep the focus on one point of the image. Each of these photographs are minimal which creates a sense of satisfaction. I chose to not have colour in the images so I could of focus on the tones in the image while still keeping the images basic and minimal.
This contact sheet shows the different white balance settings. White balance changes the colour balance in a photograph - so white objects appear white If lighting and colour is too warm a cooler filter can be used to balance the white - etc There is not a lot of white in these photographs to properly demonstrate the use of white balance making a contact sheet: open bridge and select your chosen photos select tools; Photoshop; contact sheet once Photoshop is opened select the amount of columns and rows
I came across a cliff in Iceland on the black beach. The cliff had many repetitive shapes and symmetry naturally formed by the cooling of lava. This reminded me of Patszch’s photograph of rock columns
This is a Glacier. The Glacier had many sharp and rigid edges that created many layers in each photograph and added shadows. Contrast in black and white shapes in the ice created extra depth
These flowers have many folds in the petals; many shapes and shadows. There symmetry and complex shapes caught my eye – a close up of these pictures would create an abstract photograph
Final edits