Deciding on the photos with the correct focal points, and the least shadows to make the image look more in proportion, I proceeded to edit them, in the photo below (taken from my second shoot) I made sure that the contrast had been increased and exposure lowered. This edit is inspired by the ‘authentic’ approach to old photos, with no colour, I accomplished this with the use of a filter aswell.
Increase of exposure, shadows and tone
Adjustments in cropping and straightening
Increase in colours particularly pinks and reds to bring out colours of the items selected for this shoot
also adding a filter
Due to the mass of yellow as the focal point of the photo, I slightly increased the yellow to make to foreground even stronger. By also increasing the contrast and shadows it evened out any odd shadows that were breaking the form in the background. As well as the I made sure that the items were in the correct place using grid lines. This along with cropping the image made sure for a evenly centres focal point.
To edit I have used VSCO, a simple photo editing app. In this photo I have enhanced the contrast and exposure to lighten yet keep the objects definition. As well as this i simple cropped and straightened the photo in order to align the sides with the form of the items in focus.
In this photo I also straightened and cropped the image, however due to the two metals (background and foreground) I increased highlights and shadows, making it more clear to view. I furthermore softened the tones of the colours, cooling the image to create a blue/ silver theme.
FINAL PHOTOGRAPH
This is my chosen photo from my 3 shoots, due to the fact that it firstly represents the object’s that would be in personal use, much like the ones in the photos taken by Ziyah Gafic. This is personally my favourite due to the link between each item, being silver. This means that every item reflected in a similar way. Furthermore, even though most of the objects are rounded, I like the way they create a rectangular form. I also think that the editing of B&W improves the contrast the the background, making the focal points more visible.
I used Adobe Photoshop to edit a selection of my air display images to achieve a professional style. The tools I mainly used were the cropping, levelling, brightness and contrast, shadows and highlights and saturation tools. Using a combination of these enhanced the colour and lighting of my images to ensure they are presented to the highest quality.
An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings.
Group Activity | Image Analysis
Arnold Newman | Portrait of Alfred Krupp | 1963
Emotional Response (how it makes you feel / initial reactions):
Technical Aspects:
Visual Aspects:
Conceptual Aspects:
Contextual Aspects :
You have 5 minutes to research this image and present your findings as a group…
Blog Post 1 :
define, describe and explain what an environmental portrait is
Select one key image and apply Technical | Visual | Contextual | Conceptual analysis
August Sander The Face of Our Time 1926
August Sander The Face of Our Time 1926
August Sander The Face of Our Time 1926
Arnold Newman Igor Stravinsky (composer) 1946
Other environmental portraits to consider
Walker Evans Sharecropper Family 1936
Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother 1936
Sian Davey “Looking for Alice” 2012
Alec Soth Sleeping by the Mississippi 2004
James Nachtwey Rwanda 1995
Michelle Sank
David GoldBlatt
Anthony Kurtz No Man’s Job series 2010
Resources to help you analyse and interpret the images…
Rule of thirds grid…useful for balance, symmetry and strong compositions
Apply the Golden ratio, Fibonacci Sequence to an image (overlay / blend a template)
Henri Cartier-Bresson and the use of “The Golden Triangle”
Try some environmental portraits yourself…
Remember to show your Photo-Shoot Planning and clearly explain :
who you are photographing
what you are photographing
when you are conducting the shoot
where you are working/ location
why you are designing the shoot in this way
how you are going to produce the images (lighting / equipment etc)
Please refer to this resource to help you navigate your camera’s function and settings. You will learn how to apply these skills learning to various photo-shoots over the next few months…and you should aim to provide evidence of these skills throughout your coursework.
Remember to practice and experiment. Use your eyes and look. The more you look, the more you will see. How you see the world will determine what kind of photographer you will become.
A camera is only a tool, and it is down to you to get the best out of your equipment by becoming confident and comfortable
You must experiment with each of these skill areas as we move through our sequence of photo-shoots. Remember to include / produce a blog post on each that includes evidence of your experiments and successes…
Remember to use What / How / Why / When when describing and explaining what you are experiencing and achieving with each of these…
Using Auto-Focus
Using Manual Focus
White Balance
ISO
Aperture
Focal Length : wide, standard and telephoto lenses
Depth of Field
Show / fast Shutter Speed
Exposure and exposure compensation
Exposure bracketing
Ansel Adams and the visualisation of an image
Exposure Triangle : ISO – Shutter Speed- Aperture
Depth of Field
Camera function layout
Camera function layout
Ensure you are using technical vocab too…use the helpsheet to guide your literacy
Exposure Bracketing
Many digital cameras include an Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) option. When AEB is selected, the camera automatically takes three or more shots, each at a different exposure. Auto Exposure Bracketing is very useful for capturing high contrast scenes for HDR like this…
…by taking the same photograph with a range of different exposure settings
You can use Exposure Compensation to quickly adjust how light or how dark your exposure will be using these controls…
Or set the amount of “bracketing” like this…
Then you can create your High Dynamic Range images by using this process in Adobe Photoshop…
Understanding Composition
The Rule of Thirds
One of the fundamentals of painting and photography, the Rule of Thirds is a technique designed to help artists and photographers build drama and interest in a piece. The rule states that a piece should be divided into nine squares of equal size, with two horizontal lines intersecting two vertical lines.
Contact Sheet before edits/selectionsContact Sheet highlighting best/worst outcomes
I have displayed a collection of my Air Display images into a large contact sheet using Photoshop, so I was able to compare each image and decide which ones were my best outcomes. I used the pen tool to cross and circle what I believe are the best and worst images in this series, and which ones I will be using again. My reasons behind the crossed out images were mainly to do with the lighting, lack of clarity,composition and view. For example, the planes were very far away, making the image unclear, or the positioning of them wasn’t aesthetically pleasing in my image.
The formal and visual elements that constitute part of the ‘grammar’ of photography (such as line, shape, repetition, rhythm, balance etc.) are shared with other works of art. But photographs also have a specific grammar – flatness, frame, time, focus etc. ‘Mistakes’ in photography are often associated with (breaking) the ‘rules’ and expectations of this grammar e.g. out of focus, subject cropped, blur etc. Because of the flattening effect of photographs, things in reality are juxtaposed in unusual ways. Things in the distance (in reality) can appear to be on the same level as things closer to the camera. Some photographers have exploited the inherent surreality of this effect, what we might think of as a deliberate attempt to disorientate the viewer for artistic purposes. Other photographers and artists are more interested in the accidental disorientation caused by this phenomenon, a feature of the equipment (or apparatus) being used.
Take these examples by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Joel Meyerowitz, Saul Leiter and Matt Stuart. These photographers have exploited the flatness of photographs to make witty, gently surreal images that generate a smile in the mind.
Some questions to consider:
What skills does a photographer need to make pictures like these?
What do pictures like these tell us about the characteristics of photographs?
How important is humour in photography?
Let’s take a look at some other photographers who seem interested in deliberately interrupting our view of the world. How do they deal with a whole range of stuff that gets in the way? Why are they attracted to interruptions, obscurity and ambiguity and how do they help us get to grips with how photographs work?
Ray Metzker ‘Pictus Interruptus’
Metzker is known for his unconventional street photographs. More abstract than either Cartier-Bresson and Meyerowitz, Metzker exploits and exaggerates the properties of still photography – odd framing, multiple exposures, deep contrast, and, in this series, the interruption of various objects placed between the lens and the ‘subject’. Metzker seems to want to deliberately disorientate the viewer and question the indexical relationship between photography and the world.
It becomes clearer…that I am looking for the unknown which in fact disturbs, is foreign in subject but hauntingly right for the picture, the workings of which seem inexplicable, at the very least, a surprise. — Ray Metzker
Kurt Caviezel ‘Animals’
Caviezel takes images made by public video surveillance cameras that can be viewed live on the Internet. The ‘Animals’ series documents landscape views disrupted by birds and insects roosting on or crawling across the camera’s lens. He raises interesting questions about what the subject(s) of these photographs might be and what happens when nature and technology collide.
The series of insects and birds in my encyclopedia investigate the properties of the apparatus as a thing, as hardware, and the impact these properties have on the image. More often than not, the lenses and sensor are mounted in their box high up onto a wall that is only accessible by means of cranes or ladders for men. They are exposed to all kinds of weather and wildlife. Profiting from the situation, insects and birds turn the boxes into their habitat. Spiders spin their nets in front of the lens; flies and mosquitos crawl about the lens; bird rest on the boxes with their tail feathers hanging into the images. Needless to say, it was never the camera operators’ intention to photograph these animals. The animals and apparatus, however, could not care less about the agenda of the operators. They create images and aesthetics that a photographer with his or her own camera cannot produce unless they take pictures with a camera inhabited by moths. — Kurt Caviezel
Stephen Gill ‘Talking to Ants’
Stephen Gill is exactly the sort of photographer who might keep moths in his camera. Gill’s practice is rooted in the urban landscape of London’s East End. He has utilised a variety of strategies for capturing the beauty of mundane reality, offering viewers new visions and surprising perspectives. In this series he disrupts his chosen views by introducing small objects into the body of the camera itself. The resulting photographs are chance arrangements of photogram-like abstractions seemingly superimposed on unremarkable sections of the Hackney landscape.
The photographs in this series were made in East London between 2009 and 2013. They feature objects and creatures that I sourced from the local surroundings and placed into the body of my camera. I hoped through this method to encourage the spirit of the place to clamber aboard the images and be encapsulated in the film emulsion, like objects embedded in amber. My aim was to evoke the feeling of the area at the same time as describing its appearance as the subject was both in front and behind the camera lens at the same moment. I like to think of these photographs as in-camera photograms in which conflict or harmony has been randomly formed in the final image depending on where the objects landed. — Stephen Gill
Akihiko Miyoshi ‘Abstract Photographs’
Miyoshi is fascinated by the relationship between analogue and digital photography, between the indexicality of light and the abstraction of pixels. In this series he uses a large format camera, a mirror and coloured tape, creating disrupted self-portraits. Our sense of spatial relationships is confused. Initially, we are unable to trust what we see. Slowly, we are able to disentangle the visual clues in order to make sense of the picture. In the process we are reminded of the elements of photographic grammar. Abstraction can often be more effective way to remind us that we are looking at a photograph, an artificial construct rather than a faithful facsimile of the world.
The photographs are taken facing a mirror with coloured tape adhered to the front of the camera’s lens as they attempt to unpack the structural mechanics of photographic representation. The tapes obstruct the lens creating a field of colour that cloud over the frame and the reflection of the artist. The photographs are on the verge of becoming abstract recalling colour field paintings. Yet paradoxically it simultaneously reinforces its photographic origins by insisting on its own indexicality.
— Akihiko Miyoshi
Adrian Diubaldo ‘Broke Work’
Diabuldo is Bipolar. This series of photographs is a deliberate attempt to capture the fracturing of reality that occurs when he experiences a manic episode. It is interesting, in the context of this project, that his chosen technique was to disrupt ordinary views with an object, itself a fractured optical device. In these pictures, we are looking at the world through two pieces of glass which return a recognisable but warped and disturbing view of the world. It’s a reminder that reality is largely subjective, affected by our mental states and relative wellbeing. We all see the world differently and photography can be a useful means to communicate our individual visions.
When I shot these photographs, I used a piece of broken glass brick to interrupt a sense of full verisimilitude in the images. The visual effect is meant to signify the trouble with getting back to a sense of “reality” that those faced with Bipolar constantly re-learn to achieve, each time they heal from a manic episode. – Adrian Diubaldo
Some suggested activities:
Students attempt to take a series of photographs in which they alter their viewpoint, camera angle and framing in order to juxtapose two or more objects that are distant in reality but become closely associated through the flattening effect of photography.
Students could creatively explore one of the cardinal mistakes of photography by deliberately placing their finger in front of the lens. What effects can be achieved by this intentional disruption?
Students apply strips of coloured tape (or similar) to a piece of clear plastic E.g. acetate. They then take a series of photographs looking through this disrupted surface, experimenting with focus and depth of field. Mirrors could be used to create abstract self-portraits and paint could provide a less structured alternative or addition to the strips of tape.
Students gather a selection of small scraps of paper that may contain random text or graphic elements. They take a series of pictures in which the scraps of paper interrupt the view. Further experiments could be undertaken with other small objects.
Students are given a small stack of Post It notes. They are instructed to find a large-ish window on which to stick the notes so that they can photograph through them. They should experiment with the arrangement of the notes and with focus and depth of field.
Make the following blog posts…
Development of your ideas by research and analysis / look at key photographers eg Ray Metzker
A photomontage is a collage constructed from photographs.
Historically, the technique has been used to make political statements and gained popularity in the early 20th century (World War 1-World War 2)
Artists such as Raoul Haussman , Hannah Hoch, John Heartfield employed cut-n-paste techniques as a form of propaganda…as did Soviet artists like Aleksander Rodchenko and El Lissitsky
Photomontage has its roots in Dadaism…which is closely related to Surrrealism
Raoul Haussman
Hannah Hoch
John Heartfield
Man Ray
Grete Stern
El Lissitsky
Aleksander Rodchenko
Pop Art developments (USA and UK 1950s-)
Photomontage was also used to great effect by various Pop Artists in the mid 20th Century
Many Pop Art images and constructions tackled popular consumerism, advertising, branding and marketing techniques
Pop art also explored political concerns such as war, and gender roles too
Richard Hamilton
Peter Blake
Robert Rauschenburg
Andy Warhol
Examples and Inspiration
richard hamilton / kurt schwitters / peter blake /
soviet art
sammy slabinck
john stezaker
jesse treece
jonny briggs
david hockney
Hannah hoch
Annegret Soltau
Brno de Szou
Joachim Schmid
Jesse Draxler
Peter Kennard
Eugenia Loli
Sarah Eisenlohr
Grete Stern
Jerry UELSMANN
Duane Michals
Edmund Teske
Man Ray
El Lissitsky
Martha Rosler
John Stezaker
Peter Kennard
Annegret Soltau
Street Poster—Jacques Villegle
David Hockney – joiner photographs
Christian Marclay-Album Covers
Soviet war art and propaganda
Joachim Schmid
Jesse Draxler
Martha Rosler
Jerry Uelsmann
Sarah Eisenlohr
In her artist statement Montana based artist Sarah Eisenlohr explains that her collages use places of existence to create fictional ones in an effort to demonstrate the ways in which humans have transformed the earth. These scenes often carry undertones of spirituality and faith. “I consider the figures’ desire for shelter, warmth, and something stronger than themselves as symbols of serenity that I seek through spirituality, while the use of sublime in my work points to a relationship with the divine,”
Eugenia Loli
California based artist Eugenia Loli draws inspiration for her surreal art collages from vintage magazine images. Loli intends for her images to serve as a snap shot from a surreal movie from which the viewer can create his or her own narrative.
By now you should have a student login, which gives you access to The Hautlieu Creative Blog too.
TASK 1 : UPLOAD YOUR SUMMER TASK TO THE BLOG
You will be shown how to navigate the blog and of course design and publish your own blog posts. Remember…your blog posts are the equivalent of submitted work that is ready for assessment and feedback by your teacher(s).
Each blog post should be considered, critical, creative and carefully constructed. Normally, you will be expected to complete blog posts that reflect your knowledge and understanding of the topics / skills that have been covered day by day / week by week.
It is YOUR responsibility to keep up with the workload, and pace your productivity in step with what is being taught each step of the way. You will receive feedback either directly in response to the blog posts you publish, or as a response to a set of tasks in the form of a TRACKING SHEET.
The TRACKING SHEET will include a list of tasks / skills / blog posts that you must produce…as well as deadlines, extension tasks and the marking criteria.
The photographer I chose to edit my images in the style of is Ansel Adams, who was recognised for his monochromatic landscape photos. He tended to use a full tonal range in his photographs, creating striking images such as the ones below.
Adams was an environmentalist, meaning he was passionate
about protecting the wildlife and natural environment supporting it. He aimed to
encourage the conservation of nature and the wilderness through the use of his
camera and the photographs he produced with it, allowing people to see the true
beauty of nature.
I like the idea of producing black and white images as it
adds a timeless quality to the product. I felt it would be appropriate for this
project as the occupation is a huge part of Jersey’s heritage and adds a
powerful aspect to the final result.
Editing process
I didn’t change much apart from the colouring of the bunker so as to make the ivy more clear and the gate more defined.
Whilst editing this image of a WWII tunnel I made the cracks and deterioration more defined. I also darkened the tunnel to give the image an eerier vibe.
I cropped the image so as to keep the focus on the concrete pillars and the mill behind it, which had been previously used as a cooling matrix for the German generators. I also increased the clarity and colour of the image and decreased the light intensity as it defines the structures more.
I rotated the image to straighten the coastline, making it centred and showing an accurate view of where the people behind the gun would be aiming.
I cropped some of the foreground out and spot blemished parts of the grass that’s at the front of the shot. I then increased the clarity and decreased light intensity to keep the tower in focus.
I cropped and rotated the image for aesthetic purposes, except I kept the top half of the machine gun port and the wires to show the German propaganda on a bunker wall, which had been common ground for the massacre of enemies.
I decreased the light intensity and slightly rotated the photo to make the text straight and clear, which translates to “We drive against England”
I increased the contrast of the image and the ting slightly to get more definition on the concrete pillars that were used to stop tanks from driving up during the occupation.
I increased the clarity of the image and decreased the light intensity in order to define the middle of the image, displaying the barrel of the gun.
I increased the clarity and the warmth of the image to highlight the erosion present in the bunker door, showing how its been completely neglected after the occupation, due to the emotional attachment to it, which had been pejorative.
Final editing process
Here’s the final development of my images, in the style of Ansel Adams:
Project Evaluation:
This project on the occupation has allowed me to explore the
symbolic power photography is capable of. Initially, I mostly began looking at
the architectural aspects of bunkers from WWII; However, as I spent more time
on the first shoot, I started to notice how something as simple as overgrown
plants, rust and cobwebs could be representative of the grief and trauma caused
by the occupation in the later years of the war, as it shows how derelict
everything from that era (that had been constructed by the Germans) had become.
This abandonment really resonated with me and gave me insight into the feelings
of the islanders who fell victim to the tyrannical reign of their beloved
island.
During the project, I experimented with levels, the depth of
my images and took both landscape and portrait photos. I looked at how
foreground affects the focus of a photo and began to consider how to change the
perspective of an image.
Looking back at the photos I’d taken, if I was to do the project
again, I would’ve taken a lot more photos as I hesitated at many of the shoots.
I would evaluate my images before moving destination and I would take more time
to get everything into focus. I would experiment more with natural light and
artificial light to see how that could have changed the mood regarding each
image.
I could’ve improved my collection of images by photographing
old items and remains from that era or people who lived during that time or monuments
with immense sentimental and emotional value as a way to humble the viewer of
the image, reminding them of the ultimate torture society went through for
those years.
Overall, I’m quite happy with how my project has developed leading to the final image I’ve edited and selected below.
Personally, I feel as though this was the most successful
image as it captures Jersey’s beautiful coast behind a mass structure built
exclusively for malicious intent. Generally, I believe it allegorically
represents how Jersey was occupied and the black and white editing of the image
helps to date the gun emplacement back to the era in which the war took place,
due to its “timeless quality” I had explored earlier in my research.
I think the way the barrel of the gun is directly in the
middle of the image is a key reason why the photo works so well; It allows the
viewer to gain the same perspective that a German soldier would have had. It
also makes the viewer feel subordinate as the structure the feel like they’re
standing behind had the power to carry out hundreds of massacres on Jersey and
British allies, which can arouse feelings of grief, despite not actively being
there to witness it. The symmetry of the metal bars on either side personally
represents the islanders, who were regimented and controlled by Germany as they
almost line up like bars of a cage.
The serenity of the sea in the background allows the viewer
to see that the photo was not taken during the occupation but creates imagery,
as they can picture the vessels that would have been out there, almost creating
a sense of nostalgia.
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