Before going into the studio to take photographs of still-life objects that originated during Jersey’s Occupation, we were first given an explanation of how the lights, set and studio itself was to be laid out, along with the camera settings we would need to use to compliment the lighting.
Firstly, we documented the layout of the set, which consisted of a curved white sheet of reflective plastic propped up by a frame. The sheet was curved in order to blur any possible corners so that the background looked like a single toned white background, therefore making sure not to divert any attention away from the subjects, and to make sure there was no cut/line in the background.
3 lights were used to light the subject in the centre; a filler light, a key light, and a back light. The key light was the most important light, as it highlighted the form and dimension of the subject, and provided a basis for all other lights to be added on afterwards. The filler light was used to reduce the sharp shadows created by the key light, and therefore reducing the harsh contrast and making the subject seem more realistically lit. Finally, a back light was used to slightly highlight the subject from behind to allow for an increase in depth in the image.
The camera was set up on a tripod to ensure that I did not create a blurred effect on the image due to camera shake, and a remote switch was plugged into the camera in order to take the photo while not having to touch the camera itself (meaning the camera remained as still as possible).
The camera settings were altered to give the best possible outcome of the image. The camera was set to manual (to allow for manual adjustments of zoom and focus) and the white-balance was set to Daylight, in order to compliment the blue-light setting of the filler light. The IOS was set to 100 due to the light intensity of the studio, and the shutter-speed was set to 1/4th of a second (although after a number of attempts, this was altered to 1/2, 1/8 and 1 in order to see the difference in the images). Finally, the aperture was set to F16, in order to slightly reduce the amount of light coming into the lens (due to the intensity of the light in the studio itself),and the shutter-speed was set to 0.5/0.8 (depending on the reflection of the objects).
After the camera settings were adjusted, it was possible to take the photographs of a range of subjects and objects loaned from the Jersey Archives, including many items originating from 1935-45.
For the second setup, a tripod was positioned horizontally over the objects (placed on a white table) in order to give a birds-eye-view image of the objects straight on (this was a better option for images with slightly with less depth (such as books and ration coupons). A weight was used on the other end of the tripod in order to balance the structure, and the images were also taken using a remote in order to keep the camera as stationary as possible during the photo.
For my zine I experimented with different layouts of the photographs looking at how they are working together and what the narrative will look like and seem to be. I experimented with the use of some of my ‘home sweet home’ images to create and idea about looking inside a house, the house I used to create my home sweet home images was one built just after the war and contains a lot of old and collectable archival stuff. For this reason I began to experiment with the idea of having the first couple and last couple of photographs be of the house to create the idea of looking into the house and showing the object photographs of being stuff inside the house to create a sense of narrative and story to the zine. I also liked experimenting with the start and end of the book being in duller colours, black and white photographs as well as the use of grey and minimal splattering colour I feel this works well in the beginning of end being calming and minimal.
For the middle of my zine I began to experiment with my other object photographs that had been produced in more colour as well as my photomontage ones in response to Rafal Milach. I started to experiment with them being full bleed and leaving boarders as well as looking at the different orders I could place them in to create and narrative sequence to work with the idea of looking into the house and back out with my starting and ending photographs. I found that the photographs I feel worked better as full bleed as I think it gave more effect to the photographs and created a bigger impact.
In order to create my photomontages I exported the original images as JPEG’s and then imported them into photoshop, where I created the montage. These outcomes are inspired by Milach who created similar imagery to contextually presented the children strike.
Design 1:
To create this design I opened up archival images of German soldiers, using the quick selection tool I cut out the sliders and placed them onto the still life photograph. Using the transformation tool I adjusted the size and positioning of the soldiers. I then used the rubber tool and went around the cutting making the outline smooth and more naturalistic. I then added a whole solider image in the light, which was done by cutting out the centre of the light and using the blending mode tools to combine and create this overlay of the two layers. I believe that this outcomes is the most successful from my further experimentation with my still life imagery.
Conceptually I wanted to convey the restrictions the German’s bought in on islanders when Jersey was occupied over the 5 years. The objects in the frame are minimalistic and basic suggesting how restricted Islanders where, as well as the ideology of lack of communication on the island which is shown by the radio set in the centre, contextually Islander where not allowed radio sets or contact with the main land which influenced the restrictions of objects the islanders where allowed. The soldiers represent the restriction and how the German’s were always around making it hard to have the contraband without being caught, creating a sense of authority and entrapment. On top of this, the soldiers in the light represent the unknown, when the war was occurring islanders did not know where they stood and who was winning due to the lack of communication
Visually, the image is busy creating a sense of chaos and lack of space, showcasing the conceptual meaning on how Islanders where restricted. The colours contrast the archival photographs, creating clear juxtaposition which reinforces the conceptual and contextual meanings outlined above. Everything is central in the frame, making it the main focal point. The lack of shadows and simplistic background supports this being the main focus point. On top of this, the main formal elements presented are colour, space and texture which is presented through the positioning of the composition.
Technically, the camera settings are simplistic and similar to Milach’s photography. The ISO was kept on 100 as well as the shutter speed being quick. The aperture was F16, allowing no depth of field to be showcased, but still allowed enough light in. The lighting was two artificial flash heads, reducing shadows in the background, which worked with the colour accuracy of my white balance used. Overall, I believe I have managed to produce successful imagery with strong conceptual and contextual representations.
Design 2:
For my second design I followed similar steps as to my first photomontage. When creating this image I selected an archival image of a solider and used the quick selection tool to cut it out. I then placed and positioned the the solider to look at the light, creating a minimalistic and simplistic documentary photomontage. Although this imagery is still successful and rich with conceptual land contextual representation, I do not believe it is as strong as the imagery created above.
Exploration Edit:
For my next edit I decided to select my top photograph which captured a singular object at a straight on angle on the white background. For my first design I created a colour version of this. I achieved the look by adjusting the contrast, structure, white, blacks and shadows allowing the colouring to be emphasise, making it the main formal element being presented in the outcome. There is clear highlighted areas which create a contrast in tonal regions, which compliments the rustic feel towards the imagery. A vignetting has been used to draw attention to the centre of the frame, almost creating an artificial depth of field. I find the colour edit visually pleasing to look at due texture and colour of the object to clearly be illuminated.
For my next design I wanted to create a black and white variation of the same image. To achieve this I started by making the image monochrome, and similarly adjusted the sliders of contrast, blacks, whites and shadows like the colour edit above. Doing this allowed a clear comparison as to if the image presents itself better black and white or in colour. Personally, I prefer the black and white outcome due to a ore metallic feel and the texture of the object to be showcase more, which helps to emphasise the contextual representations of the object more clearly.
I then decided to make a third edit, which really emphasised the texture and tonal contrast of the object. Utilising the image above I then went on to moving the sliders to the extreme, at the bipolar ends, allowing the metal to be clearer and showcase more tonal contrast. Doing this also allowed the shadow of the object to be presented, which I think compliments the object and outcome. In addition, it has allowed the backgrounds to be multiple tones of white and grey, which does not distract viewers from the background, making a more intriguing representation of the object. I believe that this outcome is the most successful from this photograph due to the overall atheistic it brings and the strong conceptual and contextual representations it holds.
Most Successful Outcomes:
Evaluation:
To evaluate I believe I have been able to show clear further exploration to my still life imagery, through using inspiration from artists and experimenting on Lightroom to produce different outcomes of the same image. Doing this has allowed me to develop my project and understanding of still life, as well as produce outcomes which I would not have initially created. I have shown my creativity through my photomontages and ability to use photoshop to create such design. The two successful images, are definitely images which I will be using in my new zine which explores objects and people. To conclude, I have successful produced further exploration to still life which showcase my ability to think about conceptual and contextual meaning when creating the imagery.
In preparation for my second photo shoot I reflected back on my previous shoot, looking at lighting techniques which worked and looked over the camera settings in order to capture effective imagery. For this shoot I decided to take a more contemporary approach by adding colour backgrounds to my straight on angle photographs, allowing an inspiration link to Rafal Milach’s work, developing my response to still life photography. I also wanted to explore more using singular objects of the complete white background, working on my manual focusing skills. I will again be using two set ups, the first for more flat objects (Birds Eye View) and one for 3-Dimensional objects (Straight on Angle). These two set ups required different lighting rigs, which is explained below. With my camera settings I put the mode to Manual, the ISO to 100 and the aperture to F16, allowing a wide depth of field to be utilised. The shutter speed for the Birds Eye View was between 1/250 – 1/200 and the straight on angle’s shutter speed was 0.5 – 0.8. The white balance for both was set onto daylight, with manual focus being used.
I used two flash head lights, set on a 2.0 power output. The lights where paced either side of the table, slightly facing downwards towards the object. On my camera I used a transmitter which triggered the flash heads to operate as I captured my imagery. In addition, I also used a pilot light in order to position a and frame my composition, this was located at the back of the table (on right) and did not affect the colouring or the outcomes of my image. The camera itself was placed on a tripod facing straight on at the table, with adjustments allowing me to have control over the composition of my imagery.
Edits:
First Edit: Flagged
Second Edit – Star Rating
Third Edit – Colour Rating
Outcomes:
The three outcomes below are my top photographs from the shoot, which clearly showcase my inspiration and application of Milach’s work into my own. I explored with coloured background, which complemented one another, allowing a more ameliorative tone towards my final outcomes. I felt that it was important the the colours were vibrant and bright, almost welcoming, in order to draw the eyes into the objects located in the centre of the frame, I really emphasised this when editing. I started off by adjusting the whites, darks, shadows and contrast, allowing the objects to show clarity and tonal contrast, on top of accurately making the background vibrant. I then used the spot removal tool, to ensure a consistent coloured background, so that the viewers attention is not drawn away from the objects presenting the concept, a lack of simple supplies that citizens had to live off when the German’s occupied the island, of the imagery. I also selected another photograph which used the plain white background and experimented with attempting to get the text clear and bold, making it the main focal point, which was done by adjusting the clarity, structure, blacks and whites.
Evaluation:
To evaluate I believe I have been able to produce strong imagery, which clearly convey my understanding of Milach’s work and ability to apply his techniques and designs into my photographs. In addition, I have been able to explore a new way of capturing still life, furthering my exploration with this style of photography allowing more conceptual and contextual outcomes to be presented. To further my exploration even further I now intend to create photomontages with the coloured outcomes to make stronger links with Milach’s work, as well as creating different edits of the same photograph to showcase my exploration.
Rafal Milach was born in 1978, in Poland. In 2003 he graduated from Katowice with a degree in Fine Art, soon after he co-founded Sputnik photos, which was a series which documented the transition of the post-Soviet states. Milach has a strong connection with capturing photographs which uphold a strong political viewpoint, which is shown in many of his photographic series. Travelling, allows Milach to capture different cultures and gives him an understanding of their political situation which may spark an idea for another photographic series. In addition, he has published many photographic books and zines to showcase his work, as well as having his work show in five exhibitions.
I will be exploring the photographic series ‘The First March of Gentlemen’ which was created in 2017. Contextually, The photographic series captures the town of Września and the towns children strike, which was a protest of Polish children and parents against the Germanization (the spread of the German language culture and people within a city) of the town. there were many demonstrations by Citizens of Poland, a civic movement engaged in pro-democracy and anti-fascist actions, opposed to the political changes brought about by the government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
“This delineates a fictitious narrative that can be read as a metaphor, commenting on the social and political tensions of the present day.”
This direct quote from Milach represents the artistic aim and conceptual representation within the photographic imagery. It suggests that he wanted to create a narrative which holds metaphorical symbolism by creating collages of illustrations of the children’s strike and objects associated with this and characters who lived during the communist era in Września, taken by a local photographer at the time Ryszard Szczepaniak. This conceptually represents the social and political issues which were relevant during that time, but still can be applied in some areas in today’s society, making the project relevant.
“The ‘Gentlemen’ is just a figure of speech. It’s not a gender-related thing, it’s just a representation of some activated unit. To me it was rather a metaphor of being in some sort of bubble where you don’t really have to act because you are comfortable.”
Above is a quote taken from a recent interview with Milach where he explains the purpose of his book. It explains why the book is titled in such way and the importance of the title to the conceptual and contextual representations, which clearly showcase the political and social tension with the communist era.
The image above is one of my favourite photographs from the series, we are presented with a man entrapped in geometric shapes in the centre of the frame. The geometric shapes are object taken from schools in Września, to contextually show how the German’s changed the education system to be like Germany’s, which illuminates how nothing has been changed. The figure itself seem authoritative and most likely has some connection with the political system within the town, the creates a conceptual representation that politics have entrapped citizens of the town and will not do anything about it. The photograph is presented as a portrait photograph taken at a straight on angle and in colour. The background of the photograph is red and blue, which are not complementary colours, which uphold the pejorative representations within the imagery. Due to the background being plain it allows the subject and objects, in the centre, to be the main focus point, ensuring we gain the conceptual message. The photograph presents the formal elements of colour, space and shape through the positioning of the object and subject, and the sense of confinement through the entrapment. The overall composition works in telling the narrative, and is similar in every page of the photo book.
Technically, the camera settings are basic, due to the photograph being an artificial still life montage, which documents the Września children crisis. The lighting used is artificial, likely to be two flash heads either side of the frame which go off at the same time, due to the lack of shadows and the whole frame being lit. On top of this, the ISO is likely to be low due to no intended noise and the shutter speed being quick (1/250) due to no intended blur when capturing the photograph. In addition, the frame showcases a clear white balance accuracy as the colour are strong and almost vibrant, allowing the conceptual meaning to be almost in your face when viewing the image. The aperture is likely to be on F16 allowing the whole frame to be in focus, reducing depth of field, and allowing enough light in to capture the montage sufficiently.
To conclude, I think that the work of Milach is successful due to the nature of using a photomontage to showcase documentary photography. He clearly showcases his conceptual representations due to the clear link with personal and historical context within the imagery. The composition is well thought out, through the colour schemes to the positioning, allowing an affecting and intriguing response for viewers. In addition, the camera settings have been used effectively to produce high quality photographs.
After finalizing the editing for all of the photographs I took over the course of the project, and reducing my selection of images to the ones that I wanted to use as final images, I was left with the below images:
These would be the images I would use in my zine, and I felt like these images could all be linked together using a narrative. My first thought was that the contrast between the portraits (clearly taken in modern time) and the images of the archival, old objects would work to add to a narrative that represented the reflection between the present individuals who still deal with the trauma of the occupation, and the reality that the occupation is still a very important and present part of the history of Jersey (as clearly the objects have been looked after and archived to preserve them and their importance). I decided to develop a narrative that would help to link between the past and present, and show the differences and similarities that could still be found within past and present representations of war and occupation if they are actively sought out.
The first 2 images I decided on to place side by side were a portrait and a photo-montage. I feel that placing these 2 images together shows a contrast between the bold colours on the right, and the dulled, somber colours of the left. I specifically placed these images together due to their contrasting colours which would draw attention of the viewer, but also the fact that the subjects of both images are looking in the same direction, showing a connection between the two images, and drawing attention to the fact that the subjects of both images, although presented very differently, still hold experiences of war and trauma that they deal with in their own way. I made these the first images to immediately draw attention to the similarities between old and new.
third image
thirteenth image
I then began sequencing the next images, to show a subtle decent into a set of images that focused more on the historical aspect of the war, drawing attention to archival images and photo-montage representations of how war influenced those involved in it. I did this by placing an image of a single subject that has been edited to look slightly ripped. I did this to show a decent, as if tearing away the present to reveal the past reality of the war and occupation. I then placed a series of objects and photo-montages, progressively becoming darker and bolder in colour as well as theme, in order to represent the growing despair and hopelessness of the occupation.
As seen in the gallery of images above, the sequence moves from lighter, studio photography of objects, towards more raw, darker tones images of objects in the environment in which they would have been found during the occupation. I did this to emphasize the reality, in which archival objects themselves struggle to tell the full story, unless the reality and truth of the occupation itself is considered, and the objects are seen in their real, frightening and more disturbing setting.
I decided to use this image as my final image. I feel like the tones of this image encapsulate the sorrow of the war, as the contrasting black and whites present a stark and harsh contrast, with the subjects presenting neutral faces (rather than happy). I used this as my final image to bring attention back to the present, where individuals present during the Occupation still deal with the negative memories of the Occupation, and I feel that this image reflects the dark struggles that the subjects still deal with every day.
I imported my still life images into lightroom. I create a new collection set inside my main folder of occupation and war. This is so that my images can be categorized and organised. Once imported I then began to go through my images applying a star rating so when viewing all my images, I would know which were my best and worst by a glance. After giving them a rating I then selected each 5 star image and changed it to develop mode, as this allows me to edit the image. With these first few images I experimented with changing the exposure and editing the colors within them, such as making blue or orange stronger within the image. I also increased the grain of the image as this made the features on the object more detailed and visible.
Along with changing the different settings to make the images I have be less over exposed and have more contrast, etc I then used the crop tools on some of the images. I did this because in certain images the object wasn’t in the center to cropping of a side of the image then put the object in the middle. However, like the image above there was too much background and surroundings of the image which took focus off the main object, so cropping off most of the background made the object the main focus which in these images was what I wanted. This is because my main focus was to show parts of the occupation which was left.
As I carried on experimenting with my images I used the ‘Radial Filter’. This is where you draw a circle/oval around a certain part of the image and from then all the changes you make to the image effect everything outside of the circle. I believe this works well with still life images because it allows you to highlight the object you are focusing on, it can sometimes look as if the objects are glowing when its surroundings are increasingly darker from the background and the objects. It can make an image more interesting to look at by giving it different exposures within the same image, instead of it all being one tone.
Once edited all my images, I then right clicked on the images and selected add a color filter to it (green) this is so I could determine which images where complete and ready to export. Visually this was easier for my to work with as I could select a color for the images I wanted to not use, use or was indecisive of. This makes it easier for me to export later on
Once I have selected the images I want to use for my final pieces I will go down to the left hand corner and click on ‘export’, this will then come up with how I want to export the image, where I want the images to be saved to, etc. I will transfer them as a JPEG this is so they can be uploaded onto the blog and be used on in-design. My images will remain in lightroom as they are, if I decide I want to go back and adjust them I can and then re-export them.
Final ImagesFinal Images
Overall I like how my images have turned out. I have experimented with how bright the lighting is within the images. In the photos of the lamps I have changed the coloring of the light making some of it more blue, grey or yellow this gives the images which gives the object a different background and feel for the image. The different lighting can make the object look a lot older and worn out or in well kept shape, but I prefer the image where the object looks older as you can see through the features on the object the ‘struggles’ it went through when belonging to someone which could be a representation of that individuals life during the occupation. In the images of the newspaper the paper is more yellow, which gives it an older look, along with the grain on the image makes the paper look more worn out. Finally, my image with different objects in it, the darkness in the corner lightens into the middle of the image, which acts as a highlight for the images, this naturally draws attention to the objects in the images. The darkness could’ve lighten a bit earlier as in the top left hand corner there is too much darkness over the helmet which results in you not rally being able to see the full detail which eliminates the point of the image as these images are there to show historical objects from the occupation and people want to see the detail and marks on them as it adds personalty and emotion to the image.
I then went back into the studio a second time this time with more ideas. I decided to photograph some of the same objects again but except this time using colored background, this adds something else to the image, making it catch the human eye more. I used a standard 50mm lens on a tripod, I had two light coming in from either side. I placed a piece of colored paper on the wall behind and one on the table, then placing the object in the middle of the paper. When photographing the images I sometimes slightly zoomed in or out of the image to make sure I could capture what I wanted to, to tell the story of the occupation. A problem I had was when changing the colored paper in and out I sometimes didn’t put the bottom piece close enough to the wall which resulted in the table being on show in the image, and making sure the object was in the middle but this could be fixed in lightroom by cropping.
Again, after I had finished editing my images I selected my final pieces so they could be exported as a JPEG. This is so they could be uploaded to the blog and used in Photoshop when creating a montage.
Final Images
Overall, when shooting with the colored paper, I found it difficult to make sure the paper was lined up straight to create that straight horizontal line, in some of the images I took you could see part of the table/wall but this was easily rectified as I could just re-position the camera and alter the zoom. The colored background makes the images more interesting and appealing to look at, as bright bold colors draw attention of the human eye. The colors also make the object I’m photographing stand out and you are able to see more detail of the object.
In The First March of Gentlemen, Rafal Milach creates a narrative composed of real stories. He retells the historical childrens strike in Wrzenia in Poland from the early 20th Century, through collaged archive photographs from the 1950s and 1960. He has created a narrative to be read as a playful metaphor for the social and political tensions of the present.
When western Poland was under German occupation, over 100 students of the Catholic People’s School took part in a strike against the German influence on their education. The Germans aim was to remove the Polish language from their teachings.
Milach detached the figures from Szczepaniak’s photographs, both literally and figuratively, from their original context and placed them onto bright, candy coloured backgrounds. The design is “like a toy, like a candy – something nice to look at and to touch.” The figures are caged in geometric shapes, which as the book progresses, increasingly constrict and restrain them. The figures remain oblivious to their imprisonment. Ania Nałęcka-Milach, the designer of the book, created the physical object to reference the size and colour scheme of children’s school exercise books, as a camouflage for the serious subject matter.
In order to create these photomontages, I edited my still life Occupation objects on photoshop. These 4 outcomes are inspired by Rafal Milach, a photographer who created montages with figures caged in geometric shapes to retell the historical children strike in Wrzenia in Poland. His vivid colour scheme and “toy and candy” design has inspired me to further explore my editing skills on photoshop.
To create these several designs, I used archival images of German soldier from société jersiaise. The quick selection tool on photoshop allowed me to cut out the soldiers from their original photo and place it onto the still life photographs. Before using the line tool, I adjusted the figures using the transformation tool to change the size and placement. What I enjoyed the most about editing these photomontages was adding geometrical shapes onto the images to have the same contextual meaning as Milach’s book. The figures are restrained and caged by these lines to convey the restrictions the German’s introduced into Jersey when it was Occupied.
These are my outcomes from the editing in camera as well as on Lightroom in the photomontage. I feel these outcomes have worked well and I am happy with the way they have turned out that I feel some could be used in my newspaper and final zine. The outcomes have come in response to Rafal Milach I feel I have been able to create successful outcomes in response to his work with experimenting with the coloured backgrounds, seeing what colours worked together and seeing what colours worked well with each other to create good effects in camera. I have enjoyed trying to work with creating and composing arrangements against the coloured backgrounds as I feel it adds something to the photographs and makes them more interesting to look at. I will be happy to experiment and use these in my final zine as I feel that the are successful outcomes. Something that I feel could have gone better were maybe being getting the lighting slightly better or the horizontal line straighter as I found slight difficulty in getting them connected correctly to create a perfectly straight line. Using the small figured people in the photographs helped to add to the effect I believe in the meaning of the photographs as well as in response to Rafal Milach, I think this helped to tell more of a story and created for a better, more interesting photograph rather than just composing with the objects it added a bit more meaning to the photographs portraying where the objects where from.
