Aaron Siskind (December 4, 1903 – February 8, 1991) was an American photographer. He is considered to be closely involved with, if not a part of, the abstract expressionist movement.
Siskind’s work focuses on the details of nature and architecture. He presents them as flat surfaces to create a new image which stands independent of the original subject. For some his work has been described as crossing the line between photography and painting, his photographs are works unique to photography. Crusted and peeling paper/newspaper texture is often seen through Siskind’s work.
Response
As a response to Aaron Siskind’s work, I wanted to produce something that included both his peeling texture but also some elements of colour as well. I decided I wanted to use the very brash/rough texture of ripped cardboard with smooth and thick paint layered over the top so that the two would juxtapose eachother.
I noticed that most (if not all) of Siskind’s work is in black and white, therefore I edited some of my photos to be this way. However the task was also to include some elements of colour also so I edited the cardboard to be in black and white and the paint to stay mostly with its original colour. I did this using Photoshop to create a ‘splash’ effect. This can be seen in the video below.
This is a small contact sheet/gallery of my first photo shoot.
Here are the edited photos for this photoshoot.
There are a couple missed parts which I couldn’t get with the Magic Wand/ Quick Selection tool. However, I still enjoy the constrast between the bright colours and black and white.
2nd Photoshoot
I also did a second photoshoot that wasn’t inspired by Siskind. This is the gallery/contact sheet for this.
I wanted to capture the vivid colours in the oil pastels so I arranged them to all be leaning on one another. The ‘broken’ texture of the ends is rough and shows depth. I also cropped parts of some images to make it look more abstract and that you couldn’t tell exactly what is was. This is the edited close up version.
This box is used when you want to decide where about you want your image to be mirrored at.
Here are a couple of examples of my final outcomes.
The steps i followed were pretty simple. I started by deciding which image i was going to edit first. Then by hovering over the image tab at the top and press canvas size i was able to drag the photo from one side to the other using the small arrow in the corner. After having selected it and by pressing control J.
Here is another example of the same image i edited but in black and white.
shutter speed is the nominal time for which a shutter is open at a given setting.
In film photography it was the length of time that the film was exposed to the scene you’re photographing and similarly in digital photography shutter speed is the length of time that your image sensor ‘sees’ the scene you’re attempting to capture.
Shutter speed is measured in seconds – or in most cases fractions of seconds. The bigger the denominator the faster the speed (ie 1/1000 is much faster than 1/30).
in most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster. This is because anything slower than this is very difficult to use without getting camera shake. Camera shake is when your camera is moving while the shutter is open and results in blur in your photos.
If you’re using a slow shutter speed (anything slower than 1/60) you will need to either use a tripod or some some type of image stabilization (more and more cameras are coming with this built in).
To freeze movement in an image (like in the shots of the birds above and the surfer below) you’ll want to choose a faster shutter speed and to let the movement blur you’ll want to choose a slower shutter speed. The actual speeds you should choose will vary depending upon the speed of the subject in your shot and how much you want it to be blurred.
In the subway shot below the shutter speed was 1 second so the movement of the trains on either side of the subject is beautifully blurred.
in the following seascape the shutter speed was 1/3 of a second and so we sea the movement in the water.
Remember that thinking about Shutter Speed in isolation from the other two elements of the exposure triangle (aperture and ISO) is not really a good idea. As you change shutter speed you’ll need to change one or both of the other elements to compensate for it.
For example if you speed up your shutter speed one stop (for example from 1/125th to 1/250th) you’re effectively letting half as much light into your camera. To compensate for this you’ll probably need to increase your aperture one stop (for example from f16 to f11). The other alternative would be to choose a faster ISO rating (you might want to move from ISO 100 to ISO 400 for example).
experimenting wit shutter speed
this photograph above of a home decoration lamp with multiple small filaments on the top scattered around was taken with a semi fast shutter speed.
this is the same photograph but this time it was taken with a slow shutter speed and the camera was slowly moved to the left while the photo was being taken
this photo was also taken on the same shutter speed but the camera was moved faster to the left
so we conclude that if you want to take a sharp image with nothing blurry like a sports photograph or a photograph of a moving animal or human we have to you a fast shutter speed , but if we are taking an abstract photo and want to create movement and color to the photograph we use a slow shutter speed.
Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was known for the New York art galleries that he ran in the early part of the 20th century, where he introduced many avant-garde European artists to the U.S.
Examples of his cloud works :
In his work, he takes pictures of instructing and unique forms of clouds, with the light and darks clashing.
Contact sheets:
To take photos with inspiration from Stieglitz’s work, I will be aiming to take pictures of clouds, ones with unique textures and where the sun is trying to break through from behind. I’m also looking for pictures where the lights and darks contrast considerably, and ones which I can turn into an abstract photo.
My chosen photos:
Edited photos:
To edit these photos, I went and put a black and white filter on, and then went and played around with the contrast, exposure and light. I brought the light and exposure down, and increased the contrast to try and replicate Alfred’s works.
My final choices :
I chose these three as my final photographs for this task because I believe they relate the most to Stieglitz’s work. It shows contrast between the lights and darks of the clouds and continues on with his black and white style.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois and raised in the nearby town of Bloomington, Illinois. Meatyard purchased his first camera in 1950 to photograph his newborn first child, and worked primarily with a Rolleiflex medium-format camera ever afterwards. He eventually found his way to the Lexington Camera club in 1954, and at the same time joined the Photographic Society of America. It was at the Lexington Camera Club that Meatyard met Van Deren Coke, an early influence behind much of his work. During the mid-1950s, Meatyard attended a series of summer workshops run by Henry Holmes Smith at Indiana University and also with Minor White. White, in particular, fostered Meatyard’s interest in Zen Philosophy.
This is one of Meatyard’s photos from his Zen Twigs series. He has made the focus of the image the twigs by blurring the background so that it is almost unrecognisable. To achieve this focus on the twig Meatyard may have use manual focus to make the background as blurry as possible. The effect of leading lines can be seen in this photo as the viewers eye may focus on the twig then follow the twigs shape round the image. The photo has been taken in black and white which shows what time period the photo was taken in as there weren’t coloured photos yet. The effect of the black and white gives the photo an abstract effect.
Contact Sheets:
Experimentation:
These are my ‘Zen Twigs’ experiments. I tried to make the images look as similar as possible to Meatyards photos. I started each edit by making the image black and white. I then changed the amount of black and white in levels to make the twigs stand out from the background, and give the twigs as much detail as possible. I cropped some of the photos to makes the twigs the main focus of the photo and get rid of any possible distractions in the background. I’m happy with the final product of the edits as they look very similar to Meatyards and because they are very focused and crisp.
Aaron Siskind was an American photographer who was interested in taking images of “true to life” objects in an abstract way. He took many images of things both in natural and urban environments. Many images he has taken contained many types of unique textures. In the mood board below this is especially visible in the images he has taken of tree barks.
Mood Board
Here are some images that Siskind has taken, that will inspire my future photo shoots.
Analysing his work
In this image Siskind uses interesting technical features. Although the image is in black and white, it is clear that the image was taken in daylight, as all the details in the frame are lit up clearly. It is also clear that the shutter speed was not too high or low, as the image isn’t over or underexposed. The aperture must have also been controlled due to the balance in exposure.
Part of what makes the image successful are the visual techniques. The image shows what appears to be many different layers of a poster peeling of a wall. By capturing this, Siskind has created many intriguing visual techniques. Firstly, the image has a very interesting texture. The photographer has successfully captured the rough and bumpy surface of the wall. This is very appealing to the audience as it gives the image a whole other level for the audience to appreciate. The image’s form is also helps to capture attention, as the different layers almost give the photo a 3D effect, making it more appealing.
The image’s context makes it further interesting. This particular image was taken in 1961, in Mexico. During this time Mexico was going through The Dirty War where there was conflict between the government and left-wing groups.
After researching to context, it became clear that Siskind may have been trying to capture a deeper, conceptwith this image, about what was going on around him at the time. Because the wall he photographed was ruined, and peeling away he could have been trying to interpret the effect the conflict was having on the country.
This images is one of my favorites by Siskind. Similar to the last image, it also uses many technical features. Firstly, the image is in black and white and it its over or under exposed. It also appears that this image was taken in the daylight, as the details in the image are perfectly lit and visible.
The visual effects of this image help to make it very appealing. Because the paint on the wall is peeling, and Siskind has captured it from the front, this image contains various different types of interesting tones and shadows. The peeling paint also gives the photograph a very attractive form, as it gives the photo a 3D vibe to it. This makes the image really interesting, as the wall has different layers to it. The image also has a very visually pleasing texture to it. You can very clearly see the bumpy and cracked surface. This is interesting to an audience as it gives the image a very vintage feel to it.
My response
For my response I attempted to capture interesting and unique types of textures, as this is what Siskind also photographed.
My best outcomes
Editing
These were the two images I begun with on Photoshop.
Next, I dragged one image on top of the other, so that the second image became a separate layer
Next I changed the image into black and white.
After, I slightly lowered the brightness so it was a little darker, and I increased the contrast a lot so that the white label would stand out more.
Next, I had to also edit my second layer which was the other image that I dragged over the top of my background. I also changed this image into black and white so the colors on the label could create an interesting contrast.
Here, I increased the contrast and also the brightness, so this image could look brighter when it was layered over the background as the background image was edited darker.
I then edited the opacity to 54% so both of the images could blend together.
This was my final outcome, after editing the two images and layering them on top of each other.
I then wanted to experiment further by seeing how the image would look with a bit of colour. So I then layered the original photo of the label, on top of the one that I had already Photoshoped.
Here, I lowed the opacity so I could see how the images would look over the top of each other. I decided to place the original photo slightly higher, and to the left to create this interesting effect.
After I was satisfied with the positioning of the image, I changed the opacity to 100% so I was able to edit my image. I decided to put the brightness very low and the contrast very high, so that the darkness of the photo could blend well with the black and white background.
Lastly, I then lowered the opacity again so both of the layers were visible on top of each other.
This is another potential outcome for my original two images.
To being editing this photo, I cropped it so that the dent in the wall was right in the middle of the image as I wanted it to be the main focus when an audience views my photo.
Next, I increased the contrast dramatically and the brightness only slightly. I did this because both parts of the wall were in different positions to the sun, meaning one side was very lit whereas the other side was in the shade. I wanted to exaggerate the contrast of lighting.
Lastly, I changed the image into black and white so the lighting contrasts would be even more noticeable.
This is the final outcome.
Firstly, I cropped the image to get rid of the lower left side of it as the background was visible and it was distracting.
Next, I lowered the brightness so all the colours would look darker and I increased the contrast.
I then changed the image into black and white so the contrast of all the layers of colour would be a lot more prominent.
After, I dragged the original image on top of the image i had already edited.
I then decreased the opacity to 50%, and positioned the image in a slightly different position to the version used on the background. I think it makes my image look a lot more interesting as both of the images have different opacitys and this makes the contrast between the tones really interesting.
I then layered another original version of the photo, and positioned it slightly higher and changed the opacity to 30% so it was lower than the previous one. I like how the image looks as there is an interesting fade effect.
This is my final image.
My best edited outcomes
This image is one of my best due to many elements. On the technicalside, this image was taken in the day light, using manual focus. I used manual focus so that I was able to choose which layer of paint to focus on.
The visual elements of the image are also very interesting. The image is of lots of different coloured layers of paint peeling of a wall. This is very interesting as it makes the image contain many different textures and layers, which gives the photo a sort of 3D effect. This is very visually pleasing because it gives the audience more details to notice. As the image is black and white, There are a lot of interesting tonal contrasts, as originally all the layers were very varied different colours and stood out a lot.
This image is very visually interesting. This is due to many things but, primarily the layering of images. I think that layering of the images helps make this photo far more appealing to the audience. This is because the black and white images and the coloured image create a distinct contrast that is very eye catching. Another contrast that is also very appealing is the writing on the label. I like how there is a coloured version and a black and white version position differently. I think they complement each other very well as they are completely different. The dramatic contrast that the white and yellow creates, helps to draw people’s attention in. There is also a big variety of different textures present in this photo, as all the individual images were focused on the different surfaces seen on a wine bottle. The textures within the photograph are interesting because they are very intricate details that will help keep the viewers attention on this photograph for longer.
The technical features of this image help to bring out the visual features I mentioned above. All the images that were layered were taken using manual focus. This helped me capture the textures of the label in a lot more detail compared to using autofocus. It was very helpful as it allowed to focus on the exact detail that I wanted to. The images were also taken in day light. This was also very helpful as it meant the images turned out very clearly, and perfectly exposed.
Crusted and peeling paper/newspaper texture is often seen through Siskind’s work.
Next, I dragged one image on top of the other, so that the second image became a separate layer
Next I changed the image into black and white.
After, I slightly lowered the brightness so it was a little darker, and I increased the contrast a lot so that the white label would stand out more.
Next, I had to also edit my second layer which was the other image that I dragged over the top of my background. I also changed this image into black and white so the colors on the label could create an interesting contrast.
Here, I increased the contrast and also the brightness, so this image could look brighter when it was layered over the background as the background image was edited darker.
I then edited the opacity to 54% so both of the images could blend together.
Here, I lowed the opacity so I could see how the images would look over the top of each other. I decided to place the original photo slightly higher, and to the left to create this interesting effect.
After I was satisfied with the positioning of the image, I changed the opacity to 100% so I was able to edit my image. I decided to put the brightness very low and the contrast very high, so that the darkness of the photo could blend well with the black and white background.
Lastly, I then lowered the opacity again so both of the layers were visible on top of each other.
To being editing this photo, I cropped it so that the dent in the wall was right in the middle of the image as I wanted it to be the main focus when an audience views my photo.
Next, I increased the contrast dramatically and the brightness only slightly. I did this because both parts of the wall were in different positions to the sun, meaning one side was very lit whereas the other side was in the shade. I wanted to exaggerate the contrast of lighting.
Lastly, I changed the image into black and white so the lighting contrasts would be even more noticeable.
Firstly, I cropped the image to get rid of the lower left side of it as the background was visible and it was distracting.
Next, I lowered the brightness so all the colours would look darker and I increased the contrast.
