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Focal Points

What is a focal point?

Using the settings on a camera, we can focus on different points of an image. These different focus points can change what the main subject of an image is. By choosing the focus of an image, the photographer can choose where they want the viewer to look first.

Image result for focus points on a camera

Furthermore, the higher the ‘F’ number the higher the depth of field. This is shown in the diagram below.

Image result for focus points definition photography

These are my attempts at using different focal points and also including a sense of depth in my photographs.

Contact Sheets

Threshold Editing

Keld Helmer Petersen

Keld Helmer Petersen was a Danish modernist photographer. Keld was internationally acclaimed for his images of structures, patterns and details found in industrial areas, city scapes and nature.

These are examples of his work

Image result for Keld Helmer Petersen

Image result for Keld Helmer Petersen

These are my attempt at editing photos in the style of Keld Helmer Petersen.

The first image was the original image without any edits or manipulations. The second image was my attempt to create a photo in the style of Keld’s.

How I created a photo in the style of Keld Helmer Petersen

Firstly, I cropped the image to make it square and to make this chosen image follow the rule of thirds.

Once I was happy with how I cropped the image I clicked on the image tool at the top of the screen where there were multiple options for me to use where I could edit my image. I then went to the adjustment option where it gave me another drop down option which I then scrolled down and clicked on the threshold option. Once I had clicked the threshold option it changed the contrast of the picture massively as well as changing the image to black and white. I played around with the threshold option until i was really happy with it. This was my Final image.

 

 

 

Analysing Robert Franks Photograph

Robert Frank

Robert Frank is a Swiss-American photographer and documentary filmmaker.  His most notable work, was his book ‘The Americans’, this earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day outsider’s view of American society. Critics said that ‘The Americans’ “changed the nature of photography, what it could say and how it could say it”. The book remains the most influential photography book of the 20th century.

This was on of his most famous pieces that was in ‘The Americans’.

Image result for robert frank bus photograph

Trolley, New Orleans, 1955

Analysis

Context

This photograph was taken in the 1950’s in New Orleans. It shows how the American society used to travel and it clearly shows the division of the whites and the blacks. we can see that the white people are sat at the front and the black people are sat at the back, at this point in time the equal rights for blacks where nothing like what they are like in the current generation so this image almost documents that equal rights for blacks where very poor.

Conceptual

Racial segregation is shown in Frank’s photograph. There appears to be a social hierarchy from left to right. The white frames in the image separate everyone on the tran. On the left of the image you can see a white man partially hidden by a window; his separation and cover from the photograph represents how the whites were protected by society but the blacks weren’t.

Technical

In this image, Robert Frank uses different techniques to create the photo that he wanted to take. A fast shutter speed was possibly used due to the sharpness of the moving tran. Frank also uses a low ISO to create a darker image. The natural lighting of the sun also helps to create a natural looking image that captures Americas society in the middle of their day. A deep depth of field is used as well to keep the image sharp and focused.

Visual

In the photograph a high contrast is used in the black and white image to create a more dramatic image. The contrast comes from the white bars on the tran which cleverly breaks up the image into different sections as they act as natural frames. This influences the viewer to see the photograph in more detail. The large amount of tones between the black man and the white people adds even more contrast and drama to this image.

 

 

 

 

Abstract and colour photography

Abstract photography

Sometimes called conceptual or concrete photography, it is meant by depicting a visual image that does not have an immediate association with the object world and that has been created through the use of photographic equipment, processes or materials.

Exploring Colour

I used colour to create abstract shapes. I adapted and edited the images to make the colours bolder because I thought they look dull and could be adapted more and could be made more interesting and visually pleasing. These are my original edits and then the more interesting edits.

I used Photoshop to create these edits. Firstly, I cut out the circular shape using the ‘elliptical marquee tool’ where I then cut out a circle from one of my chosen images. Once I had cut out a circle I pasted it onto a new document where I made a collage of four. I wasn’t happy with the final outcome so I decided to change the vibrancy of the image to it being very high and then used the paint bucket tool to fill the coloured areas in with a bolder colour. I made a collage of nine in a new document as I wanted to show of more of my edits.

Ernst Haas HW

Ernst Haas

Ernst Haas was a photojournalist and a pioneering colour photographer. During his career, the artist bridged the gap between photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium for expression and creativity. In addition to his prolific coverage of events around the globe after World War II, Haas was an early innovator in colour photography. His images were widely disseminated by magazines like Life and Vogue and, in 1962, were the subject of the first single-artist exhibition of colour photography at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He served as president of the cooperative Magnum Photos, and his book The Creation was one of the most successful photography books ever, selling 350,000 copies.

Image result for ernst haasImage result for ernst haas

Photo analysis

Image result for ernst haas

This is a coloured blurred picture with a car in the center which is in focus. This image is very visually pleasing as it almost conveys the every day life being quick and blurred as the people in the foreground and background are blurred which makes everything look rushed which easily links to everyday life. The brightness in this image makes it looks like it was taken in the evening as the lighting isn’t crisp and you can clearly see lights being reflected of the front of the car. The main focus of this photograph is the car which follows the rule of thirds as the car is in the middle guide lines.  There is also a sense of depth in this image as there are 3 layers to this image. Firstly,  there are the blurred people in the foreground, the car which is in focus is in the middle of the image which then follows by the blurred lights and people in the background.

Contact sheets

My interpretations

How I edited my images in the style of Ernst Haas

This was the original image

Firstly, I uploaded the original image into Photoshop where I then went onto duplicating the layer.

Once I had duplicated the image I went to the filter option on the top tool bar where a drop down list came down where I clicked on the blur drop down where I then clicked on the motion blur option which blurred the top image.

Once I had decided on how much blur I wanted on the image I then used the eraser tool where I rubbed out the area I wanted the image not to have blur on it (the phone box’s).

This was my final image.

 

 

Photoshop – Tone and Contrast

What is Tone?

Tone is lightness, brightness or value of a patch in a photo: dark tones correspond to shadows, light tones correspond to bright or highlight areas.

What is Contrast?

Contrast is something that photographers use to attract the viewers attention to their subject.

This is a photograph that I had already taken but thought it had a perfect range of colours in it for me to edit and play around with it a little. I began changing the Hue and saturation by making it black and white but I  still thought it needed to be altered more. I then moved onto changing the brightness and contrast where it started to enjoy the image more but still wasn’t happy with it. I then moved onto the black and white adjustment tool where i slightly changed around some of the settings and the blacks and the white really began to stand out on the picture and where much bolder and was happy with the final edit.

Tanja Deman and Jonny Briggs at the CCA Gallery

CCA Gallery

We recently visited the CCA Gallery to see some of the extraordinary work taken by Tanja Deman and Jonny Briggs. We were taken on a tour around the gallery in two groups. Firstly, Tanja took us round  and told us to independently look through all her work and pick out our favorite and least favorite and think of a reason for our final decision. One we had finished and spoken to Tanja about our thoughts on her work she wanted us to ask her questions and what we though of the concept of her work. Once we had all asked her question we then moved on to Jonny. Jonny’s work was very different to Tanja’s work as his work was very peculiar and different but he always had a perfect explanation for each piece of work which made it interesting. He took us round the gallery showing us his work and telling us about each piece of work in great detail and also giving us a clear reason for all of his ideas.

Tanja Deman and Jonny Briggs work

Image result for jonny briggs photographerImage result for jonny briggs photographerImage result for tanja demanImage result for tanja deman

 

Jan Groover – Artist Study

Jan Groover

Jan Groover  was born on April 24, 1943 and was an American photographer who spent the last part of her life in France, with her husband, a painter and critic named Bruce Groover. Groover was a still life photographer. Her work has been exhibited and included in the collections of most major museums worldwide, and continues to influence a new generation of artists. Groover moved to France in 1991.

Image result for JAN GROOVER

Image result for JAN GROOVER

Photo analysis

Image result for jan groover

This black and white Image is of silver cutlery in a pan. This image has a strong contrast as of the white background and the dark shadows behind the pan and the black inside the pan. This image also includes the rule of thirds as the right side of the picture where the cutlery is is the main focal point of the image as that is that area where the view looks at first and is the most interesting part of the picture. I really like this idea and also Groover’s style of photography as in this sense it is such a simple idea but once edited looks really effective and aesthetically pleasing.

Contact sheet

   Best Photos from the shoot/ Best Edits

How I edited my images

This was my original image.

Contact Sheets

What are contact sheets?

A contact sheet is similar to a negative but in positive colors. Contact sheets contain thumbnail images of all the photos from a previous shoot. This makes it very easy to look at your favorite   photos that you have chosen and want to use and would possibly chose to develop or print out.

How do we use contact sheets?

You can make a contact sheet by opening Adobe Bridge and selecting the photos from your previous shoot. Once you have selected your photographs, you go to ‘Tools’ and then click ‘Photoshop’ where a drop down box will appear where you will need to click the ‘Contact Sheet 2’ option  which will then open Photoshop where all your selected photos  will be presented on the page in the options you have chosen.

Magnum photographer Contact Sheets

Image result for magnum contact sheets

Image result for magnum contact sheets