The Shoot:
As part of my project I am focusing on historical sites from WW2. I decided to visit Noirmont as there are a range of bunkers that were built during the German Occupation. Whilst taking the photos I had to adjust my white balance on my camera and experiment with different angles to capture a variety of photos and get different perspectives of the bunkers.
Edits:
The main focus of this photo shoot was to capture objects from the German occupation in Jersey. There were two different camera set ups to capture the objects, one being straight on and the other from a birds eye view. The straight on set up was used to capture bigger objects that could stand up by themselves, such as helmets, boxes, lights. Whereas the birds eye view angle was used to take photos of objects that couldn’t stand up such as books, newspapers and magazines.
Contact Sheets:
Edit 1:
In this edit I began by trying to make the background brighter so that the object would stand out a little more and to also brighten up the image. I did this by increasing the exposure and the white sections in Lightroom. The next thing I did was tried to make some of the details on the box and tubs become clearer, and I did this by increasing the contrast and decreasing the shadow sections to make so that the shadows would stand out more and so that there would be more of a contrast between the dark and light sections of the edit. To conclude the edit I increased the clarity just so that some of the creases and damage on the box could stand out and give the box a bit of texture.
Edit 2:
In this edit my main aim was to make the detail on the wood and the headphone wires clearer. To do this I began by increasing the contrast to try make the little bumps on the headphone wires stand out and make the little cracks and scuffs on the wood clearer. I also increased the amount of white and black in the photo to make the background brighter and to also make and lighter shades on the wood and headphones brighter to try create more of a contrast.
Edit 3:
I began this edit by increasing the contrast and shadows in order to make the red and blue stand out more from the brown paper and also to make the pieces of paper stand out from the background. To also help create a contrast between the pieces of brown paper and the white background I also increased the whites in the image and the exposure. I finished off the edit by cropping out the extra white background and by making sure the subject of the image was adjusted so that it looked straight.
Edit 4:
When editing this image I tried to make the details in the book stand out as much as possible. To do this I started by adjusting the contrast and shadows in Lightroom to try get all the little detail on the book cover. I also increased the whites in Lightroom to try get the background a light as possible without making the image too overexposed, and to also make the book stand out from the background a little more. I also increased the blacks to make the writing on the book a little darker. I finished the edit off by cropping the image to get rid of the extra white back ground and making sure that the book looked straight.
Still life photography is a genre of photography where the subject of the photos are typically small groups of object. Still life originates from the middle ages and Ancient Greek/Roman art, and genre gives the artists creating paintings and photographs more leeway in the arrangement of the design elements within a composition compared to other photographic genres, such as landscape or portrait photography. Lighting and framing are important aspects of still life photography composition. The most popular subjects in still life images include groups of flowers, food, desk space, and many others. Normally still life images are taken close up to the subject but it also isn’t too far away, but instead taken at a medium distance from the subject.
Image Analysis:
This image was taken by Claesz, who was one of the most important Dutch still life painters in the 1600’s. Everything om the table, from the fluted glass and goblet to the lobster and crab, all look very life like. Claesz has captured all these objects together as during the 17th century the Dutch would proudly present these expensive status objects in their homes to show their wealth and remind them of the better things in life. Fish was very expensive and hard to get hold of during the 17th century, so having fish on the table would show wealth. The Dutch would also have bread and wine on the table to add a touch of Christian symbolism, and if it was white bread that would also symbolise wealth as the less fortunate, such as the poor, would either eat rye bread or porridge.
Journey
Definition: “an act of travelling from one place to another.”
Synonyms: Adventure, Exploration, Progress, Drive, Migration, Trip, Expedition.
Pathways
Definition: “a track that constitutes or serves as a path.”
“a way of achieving a specified result; a course of action.”
Synonyms: Avenue, Route, Passage, Roadway, Street.
When I went to do this photo shoot, my aim was to try capture photos that were similar to Hockney’s photos. I took pictures from different angles with the amount of light changing from angle to angle. I got the subject to move between photos so that there could be a sense of movement in some of the images. The subjects facial expressions changed throughout the photo shoot, and I could use these when I merge some of the photos together. On the whole I am happy with the outcome of this photo shoot as I have come out with some photos that I can use. If I were to do the photo shoot again I would do some photos indoors to and see what would come out of them.
Edits 1:
When I edit this image, I tried to find photos that would contrast each other so that it was obvious to the viewer that it was different photos on top of each other. I also moved photos out of position in order to give the image a sort of abstract feel and make the viewer concentrate on each part of the photo. I used IMG_8941 as the main background as the subject in the photo had their face straight looking at the camera, so I felt that it would be easiest to edit on. I then used IMG_8953 and IMG_8964 for the different eyes edited on. Each eyes had a different shading, and each one had a different white balance to it. I then aligned the eyes to the face and put one out of position as the eyes was looking in a different and I felt like the eye look in the right position in the place where it was positioned. I then used IMG_8942 for the mouth. I positioned the mouth under the background mouth, to give the image the distorted and lost effect that Hockney used. I then proceeded to use IMG_8930 for the left side of the face. I aligned the eye with the background one. I used this image to change the shading of the face and also to give the image that block effect in Hockney’s images. I used IMG_8935 for the right side of the hair. I did this to break up the background and also to make the block effect. I tried to make my edit as distorted and broken up as possible to make it look like Hockney’s work, but I made sure not to over do it or else it would end up like a mess and just make the image not attractive to look at.
Edit 2:
In this edit I used the same method as with the edit before. My target with this edit was to make it seem like it was moving, that is why I sort of divided the edit into three sections: the subject smiling; the subject with a straight face; and the subject with a sad face. I did the same thing and put other images on top to make the image distorted and sort of block like. I made sure that some segments were bigger than others and that they would contrast each other. There are different white balances that also make the segments contrast each other. I am happy with the outcome of the edit. I found it hard placing the segments in sections as I didn’t want to make the image seem like it was too busy and overcrowded. I also want to make sure that the subjects facial expressions were easily visible.
Jerry N. Uelsmann is an American photographer and was an early exponent of photo montage in the 20th century in America. His work in the darkroom effects foreshadowed the use of Adobe Photoshop to make surrealistic images in the late 20th century, a process led by his ex-wife, Maggie Taylor, at that time. He received a Guggernhein Fellowship in 1967, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1972, and the Lucie Award in Fine Art in 2015. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, a founding member of The Society of Photographic Education. Uelsmann’s interpretations of landscape elements, reworked, tweaked, and re-contextualized, force the viewer to actively interact with his subjects. Continually in his photographs the viewer is confronted with entrances, whether they be gates, windows, trapdoors or ordinary doors. Usually, the entrances are shut, but even when they are not, the viewer must imagine what is inside.
Uelsmann Moodboard:
Photo Analysis:
This photo is in black and white. It shows a man looking out of the window and seeing a reflection of himself. The man seems to be confused, and has a look on his face that he is lost. The reflection seem to have been inverted so that the shadows and lighter parts have switched. The lighting that Uelsmann has decided to use is natural, this makes the sides of the subject closer to the window a lot brighter than the other side, which will have strong shadows. The shutter speed might have been quite fast as the subject is very focused and crisp. Uelsmann has decreased the opacity of the reflection of the man which allows us to see the background of the image, which is of a boy of a young boy walking on grass or on a pathway. Uelsmann could have done this as a representation of the man when he was younger and he could be reflecting on his life.
David Hockney is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the 20th century. Hockney has owned a home and studio in Bridlington and London, and two residences in California, where he has lived on and off since 1964: one in the Hollywood Hills, one in Malibu, and an office and archives on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. Hockney studied at the Royal College of Art, and featured in the exhibition ‘Young Contemporaries’ – alongside Peter Blake – that announced the arrival of British Pop art. He was associated with the movement, but his early works display expressionist elements, similar to some works by Francis Bacon. On 15 November 2018, Hockney’s 1972 work ‘Portrait of an Artist’ sold at Christie’s auction house in New York City for $90 million (£70 million), becoming the most expensive work by a living artist sold at auction. This broke the previous record, set by the 2013 sale of Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog for $58.4 million.
Photo Analysis:
The photograph seems to have been taken in a office or work environment. The subjects of the photo are a women and a man who seem to be working on a piece of paper, possibly a word search or some sort of game in a newspaper. There seems to be different paintings or pictures in the background, which could mean that the people in the photo could be artists. Hockney has used natural lighting to take this photo. This means that there wont be any dramatic shadows on the subjects faces or in the background. Each overlapping photo has a different amount of light, so some are brighter than others. This gives the photo a distorted feel as the photos don’t align perfectly and the light is also different. One way Hockney might have changed the amount of light in the photos is by changing the shutter speed to allow more or less light into the lens, or he could have used the auto setting on the camera as the camera will automatically change it shutter speed and aperture and create the effect Hockney might have been looking for. The way the different segments of photos have been organised shows the movement the subjects were making and almost gives the image a sense of movement or that the photo is like a small video.
Identity – “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is”. Identity can be influenced by many factors, which all have a different impact on people identity. One factor effecting people identity is the place in which they live in. For example if someone is brought up in a very religious environment, they will be living and doing certain things that according to the religion. The different types of identity are:
Identity and Place Mood Board:
The Claude Cahun and Clare Rae exhibition was very inspiring. It clearly demonstrated how the work of Cahun had inspired the work of Rae. Each photographer had their own room with their photos hung up on the walls, with the sizes of the photos ranging. Both Rae and Cahun take their images in similar styles, with most the images being in black and white, with the main focus being portraiture.
This is my favorite Claude Cahun image. It shows a women sitting down, wearing a shirts saying “I am in training, don’t kiss me”. This shows how Cahun might be trying to pass a message saying that as she is a female that she has to train herself to live up to the expectations of society. Cahun could also be trying to get her personality across by wearing the clothes that she has on.
This is my favorite Clare Rae image. It shows a women cramming herself under a trolley in what looks like a office. Rae might have done this to show that women might feel trapped in today’s society, so she portrayed this by putting herself under a trolley in a small corridor. Rae also might have taken this photo to express previous experience she might have had.
I did this photoshoot in town. I took photos of the random people shopping in town. I found it hard taking photos of people as I didn’t want to make it too obvious that I was taking photos of them. I also struggled with keeping the photos in focus as both the subject and myself would be moving when taking the photos, and it was difficult to keep them in focus. I came out with a few photos that I liked but next time I would use a higher shutter speed to try and keep the subject in focus.
Edit 1:
Edit 2:
Edit 3:
The first thing I did with all of these edits was to make the photos black and white, so that my edits would look as similar as possible to Cartier-Bresson. I then adjusted the amount of black and white in levels to create shadows in the photos and create better contrast. I also increase the contrast the emphasise the shadows and lighter parts of the photos. The brightness also got adjusted as most of the edits were a little overexposed when I edited the photos, so I decreased the brightness so the photo wouldn’t be too bright and overexposed.