Below are my images from my multiple photoshoots. Some images have been highlighted with a red box, this shows my favourite images. Here I tried to choose the images that reminded me of Micheal Kenna’s work, but also the ones that I think worked well.
For this lesson I used a portrait lens to try and learn how to use this type of lens with a camera. Here this was a difficult process as it was hard to focus on the objects.
I then attempted to use different white balance settings using a normal lens.
What?: I am doing a photo shoot following the works of Micheal Kenna on the theme of Romanticism and Landscape photography.
When?: I will take photos when I walk to and from school (morning/evening) and I will also spend a weekend to try and photos towards sunset/night time
Where?: St.Lawrence (fields, forests) and St. Ouens (Beach, Sand Dunes, Pond)
Why?: I am taking pictures in these locations as they are places that aren’t largely populated by humans so their won’t be a lot of human impact. Also due to my locations I will be able to show to power of nature through Romanticism.
How?: I will be using my phone; however I will be using the “Pro” function which allows me to use the camera on the phone in Manual Focus. I will also be experimenting with the Exposure Bracket. I will set my ISO to the lowest of 100 then increase it when needed (mainly when it starts to get darker). I will try to use The rule of thirds to help me align all my photos and make sure I use the space in my image wisely.
Visual: This image seems to be 3D due to the dimensions of the image and the position of the camera as the tree trunk is closer to us than the tree branches and leaves. The eye is drawn from the tree bark all the way up to its branches and leaves. Although there is a lot of negative space due to the sky, I actually quite like it due to the texture of the clouds and the contrast as the the clouds have quite a high sensitivity compared to the rest of the image.
Conceptual: I think that the main idea behind this image is again the power and graciousness of the tree and nature in general. Due to the cameras angle it looks like we have to look up to the tree which shows that we should respect nature and treat it well.
Technical: The lighting used in this image is natural lighting, this is shown due to the different coloring of the clouds. Here is the image was taken from a low angle close to the ground however the camera was pointing up towards the tree, this makes the tree look large powerful and intense, showing the power of nature and how it is stronger than humans. Tonal range is clearly shown here through the under exposure and the sharp contrasts of the highlights in the clouds and the shadows in the trees and leaves giving the tree a menacing look. Here the focal point seems to be on the tree, especially the tree bark as that is the sharpest point of the image. There is a low ISO which is shown through the sharpness of the image and the fine grain. Due to the Black and white filter, the colours are only present in the form of black, white and grey this adds to the tonal range as the contrast between these colours are more evident.
Contextual: This is called the Ta Prohm Tree in Cambodia, it is a well known tourist attraction in Cambodia due to its roots growing on top of the Ta Prohm temple which was built in the late 12th / early 13th century; however it is interesting that instead of focusing on the temple and the tree roots, he decided to focus on the tree itself. Kenna took this image in 2018 on his trip to Cambodia.
For my “rural” landscape photo-shoot I decided to follow Micheal Kenna’s work. I liked the way he presented nature and his use of lighting and tonal range
Here are some examples of Micheal Kenna’s work:
Micheal Kenna is a British photographer who was born in 1953 Widnes, England, he is best known for his black-and-white landscapes.
He studied at the following schools:
1973-76, London College of Printing, London, England.
1972-73, Banbury School of Art, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
1964-72, St Joseph’s College, Upholland, Lancashire, England
Kenna generally focuses on unusual photography with long exposures. His work has been shown in many exhibitions in places such as Europe, Australia, and Asia.
He has also taken photo in a array of countries for example; Thailand, Turkey, USA, Switzerland, New Zealand, Morocco, Korea, Hong Kong and many more.
Micheal Kenna has also won numerous awards such as; nstitute for Aesthetic Development Award, Pasadena, California, USA, 1989, Honorary Master of Arts, Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, California, USA, 2003, Special Photographer Award, Higashikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, 2016
Romanticism in Landscape photography is all about reflecting and showing the power of nature and the environment. The romantic movement began in late 18th to early 19th century. Romanticism was not about harmony, peace and balance but more about the emotions and sometimes even irrational emotions that the artists may have, or even their experiences.
In terms of Photography it is seemed to be unpredictable and uncontrollable, this type of photography is seen to be interpreted in various ways and formats; such as beautiful, quiet and sometimes sensual. but also ” dark, stormy, with a foreboding spirit “
Due to the start of the Industrial revolution many people wanted to fight back which triggered the era of romanticism, this allowed photographers to focus on the power of nature and the places in the world that we still had “little human impact”.
http://www.photowriting.co.za/2016/12/for-long-time-viewers-have-been-aware.html
Is the opening of the lens to see how much of the light will enter the camera sensor. If the camera is in a dark environment then the opening of camera will be largely opened; whereas if the camera is in an environment with light then the opening wont be as large as the dark environment. The amount in which the camera is opened is determined by the f-stops. Here in f/2.8 it is clear that a lot of light is entering the light sensor. On f/16 there is hardly any light entering the light sensor therefore this f stop is better made for a light and bright environment.
Depth of field is the distance between the farthest and closest objects in an image that appears acceptably sharp.
After Taking these pictures I unfortunately realized that most of the images were underexposed.
This was my favorite image as although the image is under exposed due to me using a shutter speed of around f/22 the image was clear you are able to see the light shining on the pens which I think creates a nice contrast.
Image 1: I like this image as it is clear from the start the it represents “Mathematics”, the glass over the wood adds a 3D effect; however I will need to crop it so that the image is more centered.
Image 2: Due to the use of the green box this contrasts with the black and white of the paper and writing which is why I like it.
Image 3: I like the contrast against the large black poster to the 3 small white posters, however I should have focused on making sure that all 4 posters could be seen.
Photo montage is a combination of images designed to send a message to their audience. This can be done physically using magazines and newspapers by cutting, rearranging and gluing images close together, however this can also be done digitally.
Photo montage was originally called “combination printing”. In 1916 George Grosz and John Heartfield started to place pictures together this later developed in what we call “photo montage” today. This term became more publicly known after World War 1, (around 1918/1919), this was used as propaganda or a way for people to express themselves. Photo montage was also used to Protest against World War.
Later on, in 1923, a Russian constructivist called Aleksander Rodchenko started to experiment with Photomontage by creating thought-provoking and socially engaging images.
Other artists such as a German artist called John Heartfield, started to reconstruct images which he got from the media in order to protest against the German fascist regimes. Also artists such as Paul Kennard, who explored the controversy in police brutality, economic inequality and many more.
For this project I decided to follow David Hockney’s work on photo montage.
David Hockney was born on the 9th July 1937, he is known for being an English painter, stage designer, print maker and photographer.
As a young artist his paintings were mainly about literacy learning, here he also started to in cooperate his homosexuality in his art, this was present in the painting “We Two Boys Clinging Together”
He studied in Bradford College of Art from the years of 1953-1957, although at this time most men was obliged to join the army, Hockney decided to spend his 2 mandatory years helping at the hospital.
Later on in his career he started to gather Polaroid pictures that he had taken and make them into a bigger picture, this began his path into photo montage.
These are just a few examples of his work on photo montage:
This image is an example of how David Hockney took the idea of photo montage and interpreted it into his own work.
Visual: The colour scheme is mainly an autumnal theme with browns, oranges and green. The shape of the image is 3D due to the overlapping of images, this shows the “photmontage” effect in the photograph, this also shows the scattered layout of the image as this disorientated set up allows the audience to see multiple “scenes” in one image. Here due to the distance of which the photo was taken, I suspect that many of these photos were cropped in order to create this scattered arrangement. This also allows the image not to be over crowded as although there are alot of images these have been cropped to make this effective. Their is no certain viewpoint in the image for the eye as the audiences eye will continuously be moving in order to comprehend the photograph which is what David Hockney wanted. Their is definitely a surface illusion as although this is one image, there are many facial reactions and as the images purposely dont match it brings the audiences’ attention upon the various scenarios. And again due to the disorientated layout their is no clear foreground, midground and background; however it is clear that the main focus of the image are on these two men
Conceptual: I believe that the main idea of this image made by David hockney is to share a small story though the multiple photos in photograph. The two men, although unclear, seem to be having a good time due to their smiles in facial expression. This photo can have various meanings, it could symbolise the support of homosexuality, friendship, memories being made or even just two people enjoying each others company. In my opinion I think this image represents the 1980s due to the “warm tone memory” effect and the displeasing jumpers.
Technical: Here, Hockney had used natural lighting in his images, this helps give a natural look to the image, this technique is also effective as when it’s more sunny the photos would have more brightness in the image which makes the images stand out. The focal point are the two men however due to the amount of photos taken the focal point varies. The images are clear and dont seem to have any motion blur. The image seems to be in higher sensitivity with a coarser grain, I think this gives the image an older feel. Texture is present on the pavement which helps to add to add a more detailed image. The temperature is warm which helps to again evokes an old memory effect. There also seems to be a slight orange autumnal color cast.