Category Archives: AO4 Present Ideas

Filters

Author:
Category:
AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Still Life Occupation Images

Leave a comment

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.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is image-126-1024x576.png

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 Images
Final 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.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Montage experiment

Leave a comment

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.

https://en.artbooksonline.eu/art-20507

https://www.bjp-online.com/2018/06/milach-gentlemen/

MY RESPONSE:

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.

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Photo-Montage Experimentation

Leave a comment

After taking a series of images using the studio layout, I began to combine multiple elements to create photo-montages. In the initial studio photograph, I took inspiration from Rafal Milach’s “The First March of Gentlemen”, and used contrasting card colours to provide the background for the objects. I used one colour as a back wall, and a it’s complimentary colour as the ground colour in order to create an obvious separation between the 2. I then took a photograph of a series of objects taken from the Jersey archives, and for one of the images I made use of a number of tiny figurines. I then used Photoshop to create a montage out of these original images, and a series of archive images, taken during WW2.

I produced this first image after taking an initial photograph of the objects and figurines, and then used Photoshop to edit in the faded outlines of the soldiers. I did this to try and create a representation of the memories of the war (represented by the faded soldiers) in contrast to the present day (represented by the figurines of the elderly people). I produced this image to represent the reality of many individuals who survived occupation and war, as they now all live with constant memories and reminders of the experiences they survived during the war.

  • I reduced the opacity of the eraser tool to create the faded effect on the soldiers (which I had separated from the background by using a different layer)
  • After reducing the opacity of the soldiers, I then outlined each one in white, in order to separate them from the background and make them more eye catching.
  • I then added a text detail in order to sum up the meaning of the image. I did this by using a rip-effect stock image and editing it to match the colour of the background, and so it looks like the text is ripping through the image.
  • I then adjusted the contrast of the image, in order to make the bold colours stand out more, reflecting Rafal Milach’s own style of work.

For my second photo-montage, I made use of 2 complimentary colours in the background, and photographed a pyramid maths object (taking inspiration from Rafal Milach). I then used an archived image of children in a concentration camp, and edited the image so it looked like the children were trapped inside of the object. I did this to reflect the horrors that many children faced during the war, while also contrasting this with the use of an object used in school, which is supposed to be a safe environment for children.

  • In order to fit the image of the children into the pyramid, I skewed the image and altered the perspective to fit the angles of the pyramid itself.
  • I then cut out the parts of the image that did no fit in the pyramid, but left the barbed wire in, while erasing the area where the wire crossed the pyramid in order to make the effect that the wire crosses on the inside of the object, which I feel is a small but effective detail.
  • This was the original image before adding in the archival image. I heightened the contrast of this image to make the colours contrast even more.

For the above image, I took a more experimental approach. I took inspiration from the note within the original book, saying “with love from mother, Xmas 1945”. I created a contrast between the 2 sides of the book, with the memories from home on the right, and the horrors of the trenches on the left. I did this to uncover the reality of war, and the differences between experiences of different people during WW2.

  • I used a number of layers to add the objects and scenes onto the pages of each book. I then merged the boarders of these images together and overlapped them, and reduced the opacity significantly.
  • This piece of text was added to contrast the text on the other side of the page. I created this text by cutting and pasting letters found on the original text, and then going over all of the letters with black.
  • Finally, I added a poem to the background in order to add to the atmosphere of war and suffering, and made the background red to coincide with the work of Rafal Malik.
AO1 Develop Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Crop and Colour experimentation

Leave a comment

With the images from my visit to Batterie Moltke, I am going to experiment with various techniques such as cropping and colour adjustment as well as Desaturating images entirely to create a series of variation in my images

Cropping

Below I have included some of my original images followed by cropped edits. Cropping is used to remove irrelevant or unwanted subjects fro an image which allows for more focus and emphasis on the main subject. Cropping also helps change the aspect ratio of an image and also allows for an overall improvement in terms of the images composition

Above is an image of a corroded ceiling inside of the German MP4 Radio Tower. I like the texture given off in the image as it shows a true sense of age and decay, However I find that a crop could benefit the image well in terms of overall composition. Below is my Cropped Image

I have decided in this edit to focus more on the patch of decaying brown material in the roof rather than focus on the wider Image as I found there was too much to take in #

Colour Adjustment

Colour Adjustment involves utilizing the colour palette in an image to create variation. In Adobe Lightroom, There is a whole HSL/Colour control panel which enables the user to have control over the various colours in an image and allows for the Hue, Saturation and luminescence to be controlled with sliders. Below is an example of an image where I used this function to alter the colours to create a dramatic image

For this image, I took control of the Aqua and blue colour filters and completely desaturated the image, Leaving the Gray/ brown of the concrete bunker as the only subject with colour in the image. This method also helps to isolate the main subject to give it much more emphasis and make it stand out from the image. I further altered the contrast and exposure to create a dark and moody image

Black and White

Desaturating an image is a great way to create an atmosphere within the image. This process is acheived through desaturating the image and then dependent on the mood of the image the photographer/ editor wants to give off, The contrast, exposure, shadows and highlights are altered to give off the desired effect.

For this image I desaturated all of the yellows, Greens and oranges within the image as these are the only colours present and turned up the contrast slightly and altered the exposure to create an effect involving the light and the darkness inside of the wall. I find that using black and white gives a great emphasis of contrast within the image

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Still life: Studio Photography

Leave a comment

Once I was confident with my understanding of the lights and layout of the studio, I could begin taking photographs of the archival objects that were loaned from the Jersey Archives. I made use of the cameras already attached to the tripods but used my own SD card. After taking a series of images, I came out with the below series (unedited):

As some of the images were either overexposed, underexposed, or had the wrong composition, I uploaded the images into Light-room, and used the colour option to highlight which images I wanted to use, and which images I would reject. The following screenshot is the collection of all of my images after they had been colour coded:

Key:
Green: Final images
Yellow: Possible final images (need more editing)
Red: Rejected images

Out of the images I uploaded to Light-room, I only decided to edit 14 of my best (those highlighted green). The final 14 images can be seen below:

I took some of these images with the knowledge I would most likely use them in a series/pattern (for example, the final 3 images are the same object at different angles, which I took under the assumption that I would use them in series)

As a further method of rating each image, I decided to rate each of the green images /5 in order to record which images I felt would work best, and which ones I felt needed the most editing during the development stage:

The ratings of the above images ranges from 3/5 to 5/5, showing a variation of images at different levels.

I then began the development process, in which I would edit the images that I had labelled green. I used the Light-room editing software, as I find it more detailed and specific than the Photo-shop software. I found that editing the colour gradients and contrasts of my images would be the most important part of this process, along with altering the orientation of some of the images so that the objects lay parallel to the bottom of the image frame.

  • This is the layout I used for the editing process of my images

For many of the images, I increased the contrast of the colours in order to produce bolder outlines and harsher colours. I felt that this helped to make the images appear more sharp and clinical, and gave harsher outlines and contrast in the colours and shadows. I decided to do this as I feel this harsh, sharp appearance reflects the atmosphere of the occupation, as the occupation of Jersey can be seen as a harsh and cruel event that made the lives of the occupants of the island much harder.

  • This is an example of the outcome of an image that I increased the contrast on.
  • I also increased the highlights of this image in order to bring out the contrasting lighter colours, and I reduced the shadows to get rid of the darker effect to the right of the image, caused by a lack of studio light.

Furthermore, I decided to increase the clarity of some of my images. I found that by raising the clarity, the clarity of every small damaged area/detail was emphasized, making the objects of each image look more worn and used. I decided to use this on a range of occasions to emphasize the time difference between now and the occupation, and to emphasize that, although these objects represent a time man years ago, the implications of this event is no less relevant.

  • Here is an example of an image in which the clarity is heightened, and the vibrance is lowered
  • I also decided to lower the vibrance of some images, as I found that this reduced the vibrance of the colours, and therefore provided a much more bleak image (which reflects the mood of the occupation more)

I also adjusted the orientation of some of my images, as the way the tripod was set out meant that the camera took some of the images at a slight angle, meaning the lines of the objects were not parallel to the bottom lie of the image frame. I found this to be a small issue which could have reduced the viewers focus on the subject itself, as their attention may instead have been drawn to the conflicting angles at the bottom of the image. I altered this using the crop option found on the tool bar at the side of the screen, and simply rotated the image until the lines were parallel:

  • Here, I had to rotate the image so that the object did not appear to be at an angle
  • I rotated this image so that the base line of the object was parallel to the bottom of the frame

After the editing process, I was able to save the below images as my final images:

AO1 Develop Ideas, AO2 Explore Ideas, AO3 Record Ideas, AO4 Present Ideas

Still life – Photo Shoot

Leave a comment

Planning:

For this photoshoot I intended to photograph objects from the war, which was given to me by the Jersey Archives. There is a mixture of objects such as Red Cross packages, Tins, Helmets, Newspaper’s, Letters and many more which symbolically represented the war. Having this many items, I used 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.

Birds Eye View Lighting Setup:

For the Birds eye view set up, 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 looking down at the table.

Straight On Angle Lighting Set Up:

For the straight on angle set up I used a continuous light set up. I used a fill light illuminating the object, with a secondary (tungsten light) light source to reduce the shadows and clearly showcase the object. I also experimented with back lights, but felt that it was not successful and did not justify the objects, thus I stopped using the back light. The camera was on a tripod with a 50mm lens.

Edits:

First Edit – Flagged
Second Edit – Star Rating
Third Edit – Colour Rating

Straight On Angle Edits:

For my straight on angle edits, I began by cropping the photographs, to ensure that the object is in the centre of the composition. I then focused on adjusting the whites, blacks, shadows, contrast and structure in order to accurately portray the objects. This also ensured a complete white background, allowing the objects to be the main focal point within the photograph. Within each photograph, there is a sense of warmth through the artificial lighting, which presents a positive view point towards the contextual meaning of the objects.

The image above is my top photograph from this exploration of still life photography. Visually, we are presented with a light used in the mines during the occupation of Jersey in 1940-45. This object is the main focal point due to the positioning of it in the frame, and it being the only item within the frame of the photograph. The use of artificial lighting allows reflection on the metal object creating tonal contrast of the rust and decay of the object to clearly be presented. When analysing the main formal elements within the frame, we are clearly presented with a sense of space, and emptiness (showcasing the lack of purpose the item now has within today’s society) form, colour and texture. The photograph captures the object at a straight on angle which works in harmony with the plain background, allowing emphasis on the conceptual and contextual factors.

Contextually, the photograph brings viewers back to the second world war and the impact it had on Jersey. It showcases the torch and how slaves, who were taken (from places such as Russia etc) and forced to work digging out tunnels, such as the underground hospital. This conceptually remind us of the importance of this object in Jersey’s history and enriches our understanding of what life was like for the slaves who were forced to work.

Technically, the photograph uses a slow shutter speed, allowing enough light to be presented within the photograph to emphasis the object, which did not create any blur due to a tripod being utilised when capturing the photograph. The ISO was kept at 100 to ensure that no noise is presented within the frame and the aperture was set to F16 which has let a wide depth of field to be used on top of allowing enough light into the exposure of the photograph. The white balance was sunlight, allowing a clear white balance correction which complemented the warm artificial light source used (a two point lighting set up, with a tungsten light).

Birds Eye View Angle Edits:

With my birds eye view photographs, I began by cropping the photographs, to ensure that the object is in the centre of the composition. I then focused on adjusting the whites, blacks, shadows, contrast and structure in order to accurately portray the objects. After ‘correcting’ the photograph I then decided to try and make the object stand out for it’s background, almost as if it has been raised and is separated from the background. To do this I looked at further increasing the shadows and blacks, although I achieved this effect, it has meant that the background now has grey tones, which slightly distracts viewers from the focal point of the photograph

Evaluation:

To evaluate my attempt at still life photography, I believe I have been able to produce clear example of my exploration with this style of photography. From taking the photographs at different angles with different lighting set ups, to applying my artist inspiration within my work, I have successfully been able to conceptually and contextually showcase the importance of these items to Jersey’s history. The simplistic editing used within these outcomes have worked well, as it does not distract viewers from the true values of the outcomes, which showcases my aesthetic for the photo shoot. To conclude, I am happy with the outcomes I have produced due to the high quality images created, through correct camera settings, and good edits. If I was to improve this I would look at producing another photo shoot capturing more objects, singularly, at a straight on angle, allowing me then to explore with typologies as a format for displaying the objects.