While exploring editing on photoshop, my main interest was increasing the highlights and shadows of each image. In this particular edit I preferred the photo in black and white. To increase the shadows and highlights, I increased the red and yellow tones, which would make shadows appear almost black, and highlights almost white. I picked this photo due to its interesting focal point. I feel that even though ones eyes are constantly being drawn towards the lightest and warmest areas, in this photograph the brightest part of the image (the centre) has an interesting high contrasted silhouette.
Technical:The lighting in the photo has been made to create a evil and spooky vibe. this is because of the of the location of the picture and the way he is glaring at us. The photo is quite dark at the front making a shadow focusing on the his face, which draws the viewers attention in contrast of the background which has natural light coming through. The natural day light at the back of the photo gives the photo some life and makes better, However the photo is still a very dark and damp focusing at the front of the photo. The photo has been taken at a mid range shot with a rather wide lens as we can see the factory behind. in conclusion, I think the image is rather cold because of its lighting which suggests that the picture is trying to create fear.
Visual: From first sight of the photo it seems rough and dull as it is quite dark, it is a dark green with then brighter colours coming towards the back. the photo looks very old as it the photo was taken In a antique factory in 1963. The focus point of the photo is the man in centre which it seems like a natural frame behind him which immediately catches our attention as it has been taken up close and the shadows and dark colours that it has created. However, the natural lighting and the trains with a bit of motion blur drags my attention to the top part of the image.
Contextual: Alfred Krupp was a German businessman who owned his own train factory. he helped to build trains to transport the prisoners to the concentration camp. he then moved to start making other things like cannons and guns as he became a supplier of weapons to the Nazi. Arnold Newman was an American photographer, noted for his “environmental portraits” of artists and politicians. He was also known for his carefully composed abstract still life images. Newman took photos of Krupp to help the Jewish people, few years after this shoot he was sentenced for 12 years imprisonment for convicting crimes.
Conceptual: The reason why Newman decided to take this portrait photograph of Krupp was to make him seem evil. Newman was brave to take this shoot after knowing everything he has done and who he truly was. Taking the photograph in a abandoned factory with trains in it suggested that he built all the trains to transport them to death which would show people who he was.
Photomontage was first established in 1915 by the Dadaists as propaganda against the first world war. Dada was an art movement in WWI based in Switzerland and their artwork was usually satirical and ridiculous in its nature, in order to demean the associates of war. Surrealists later embraced the idea of photomontage and used it to bring together different images and text in order to convey their message more efficiently to the viewer. Many artists used it to create a sense of distorted reality as a way of exploring the unconscious mind.
Photomontage is the process of result of cutting, gluing, layering and rearranging 2 or more photographs to make a complex image. Sometimes, the final result is then photographed so as to make the final print ‘seamless’.
John Heartfield
Was a well-known, early 20th century photographer who used photomontage and art as a ‘political weapon’. When the war in 1924 broke out, he managed to avoid active service by faking mental illness. He’d destroyed all his artwork from before the war and joined the Berlin Dada club in 1918, which included artists such as Hannah Hoch and Raoul Hausmann. Dada allowed Heartfield to experiment with different materials and ways of expressing his work.
His most famous work was mainly anti-Nazi and anti-fascist . He voiced his political and social views through his photomontages
Technical: The lighting is this image is quite dark and hard creating harsh shadows on the sitters face, especially under the eyes. From what I can see the white balance is quite tungsten however there are elements of the image that look quite cold. Thinking about the settings and equipment used, I can see that the photographer would have used a wide angle lens to as a lot of the background is seen even though the camera is quite close to the man. I can also tell that the photographer has used a wide angle lens because there is less compression between the sitter and the background. I think that the photographer has used a high shutter speed and small aperture of around f9 – f16 as the the whole image is quite sharp but the background is a little bit out of focus and there is a tiny bit of compression.
Visual: At first glance the colour seems very dull, green and flat with elements of brighter colour. The texture also looks very rough as the photo is taken in a factory. In terms of the focal point and leading lines; the man in the center of the image is clearly the focal point because he is very sharp and close to the camera whereas the background is slightly out of focus. My eyes are drawn to the focal point because of the walls either side of the sitter that draw my eyes into the centre of the image, also the trains in the background draw my eyes from the top back of the image down to the middle portion.
Contextual/ Conceptual: This image has a significant meaning behind it as the photographer from this photo was an American Jew whereas the sitter in the image was a German who owned a train manufacturing company. This is significant as there could have been a motive for revenge for the Jews or something similar by the photographer as the man in the photo would have played a part in the transportation of Jews to the concentration camps.
CONCEPTUAL: As mentioned before contextually, Newman set out to make Krupp look like the devil since his crimes and morals were devastating. The use of dark lighting and colour casting powerfully displays him this way. The expression on Krupp’s face and the position his hands are in is almost stereotypical of a villain. The way he his also elevated and revealed in the foreground also emphases the idea of Krupp being the devil and shows that he was of high authority and powerful; just as the devil is. Newman also built up and used a range of techniques to clearly show the background and the history/intentions that Krupp had.
You will be producing ideas, experiments and more using Adobe Photoshop.
These tasks will help introduce you to some basics and extend your skills.
If you already feel confident with Adobe Photoshop, you can move ahead and begin creating a set of photo-montages that show your understanding of the methods and concepts too.
You can use a combination of your own images, found images and images provided in the M : Drive too to create a set / series of images that explore facets of OCCUPATION V LIBERATION.
Don’t forget to upload your manual photo-montages via the MEDIA LIBRARY (they are stored in the M : Drive) and try to relate your experiments to the work of other photo-montage artists that you have looked at and been inspired by…
TECHNIQUES
Basic Image Adjustments
Brightness
Contrast
Exposure
Monochrome
Using Levels
MANUAL CUT-N-PASTE (SCISSORS, SCALPEL AND GLUE)
PHOTOSHOP –
selection tools (to cut and move elements of images)
free transform (CTRL T)– to move, re-size and shape elements
layers and layer masks
Layer Via copy (CTRL J)
opacity control methods (double exposure)
blending options
cropping
distortion
proportion
scale
Superimpose / juxtapose 2 images
Cut-n-paste
Flip and mirror
Layers and Opacity control
Create a set of blog posts that clearly show your progress, outcomes and inspiration. Include an evaluation and screen shots of your development in Adobe Photoshop
Taken by German-Jewish photographer, Arnold Newman, this environmental portrait projects multiple emotions towards viewers. Such as, apprehension, confusion and worry.
The main focus of the image – the subject (Alfried Krupp) appearing to be ‘normal’, actually supplied the Nazi’s with weaponry and utilized slave labor, even shipping some innocent people to Auschwitz. The context behind the image definitely increases the negative emotions already conveyed, as the viewer is now reminded of the inhuman things he did which contradicts how calm he is appearing which could also spark anger in some viewers where WW2 personally affected them.
One aspect of the image which completely adjusts it’s overall message and intensity would be the lighting. By using symmetrical lighting, the photographer is able to highlight the sides of Alfried Krupp’s face, causing the center to contrast the light. In addition, by centralizing the subject and making the background significantly more illuminated, the subject is darkened even more. By darkening the area of the subject and increasing the brightness of the background, a metaphor is created; the dark representing evil/ the evil the subject has done, and the light representing innocence/ the innocent lives of which he controlled and tortured.
American photographer, Arnold Newman is acknowledged as one of the great masters of the 20th and 21st Century and has his work has enhanced and changed portraiture. He is most well known for his carefully composed abstract still life images and his environmental portraits of artists and politicians. Newman found his vision in the empathy he felt for artists and their work. Although he photographed many personalities , he maintained that even if the subject is not known, or is already forgotten, the photograph itself must still excite and interest the viewer. He usually uses a carefully framed and lit setting, and its contents, to symbolize the individual’s life and work. Newman normally captured his subjects in their most familiar surroundings with representative visual elements showing their professions and personalities.
Arnold Newman: Portrait of Alfred Krupp
TECHNICAL: The lighting in this image has been created to invoke fear and evil. This is because in a natural environment we seldom see light falling in such a way, making light from below is deeply bizarre and other-worldly. Here Newman has used two key lights that are placed behind Krupp on both sides, creating yet another highly unnatural and disfiguring effect. In addition, the camera has used quite a wide angle to be able to capture the background of the factory and portray to the viewer an insight into what is occurring around the large figure. There is also a warm tone to the image from the factory lights in the background, however it is very dark and and colourless at the front of the image where the subject is placed. This creates a demonic feel around the subject as the black tones used can be associated with evil.
VISUAL : Newman used a green colour cast, resulting from the factory’s fluorescent lights, which he deliberately did not filter for. As well as being highly unusual, green skin is almost universally perceived as a sign of ill health. The frame around the subjects outline is shown as having a rough and worn out texture which presents the factory as ancient and industrial. The use of this frame also draws the viewers attention to the subject in the centre of the image, making him look larger and dominant. In addition, the subjects facial expressions and body language presents him as a dark character due to the fact he is glaring into the camera and this intimidates the viewer. The cropping of the subjects body creates an element of disguise as we can only see his upper half this could contribute to the fact he is secretive about something. Furthermore, the light coming through the ceiling creates an aesthetically pleasing pattern at the top of the image which makes it look extremely effective. The crowded setting behind the main subject creates a busy atmosphere with flashing lights and vehicles, suggesting that there is chaos around this man which he has caused, but it isn’t directly affecting him.
CONTEXTUAL: Krupp and his father had built up the Krupp business empire largely through their early support of the Nazi party and had heavily profited from the use of slave labour during the Second World War to supply arms for the Nazi war machine. Despite later being convicted of crimes and being sentenced to twelve years imprisonment, he had been pardoned after three years. He, for various reasons, got off lightly despite the magnitude of his crimes. I thought this could relate to his facial expressions in the image that are presented as smug and intimidating– he feels powerful. In addition, Newman knew a great deal about Krupp, so had initially turned down the shoot, but after reassurances from the editor, he finally decided to take the job, promising others that he would make Krupp look like the devil. I believe this could reflect the positioning of Krupp in the image, his body language and facial expressions and the dark shadows that surround him creating an eerie and evil atmosphere that is associated with his presence.
CONCEPTUAL: I believe the main purpose and meaning behind this image is to portray Krupp as a demonic character. The positioning of Krupp is vital, by placing him in this elevated position is declaring that he is the highest authority within these premises, that he is master of all he surveys and ultimately the man responsible for all that happens or has happened. The clever use of the symmetrical lighting allows Krupp to be revealed as a pitiless and brutal overseer answerable for so many deaths. Overall, Newman experimented with a variety of techniques and strategy’s to build up a corrupt personality of Krupp that is presented to the audience and shows how Newman perceived him as an individual.
