Life After Lockdown
Monthly Archives: September 2020
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Life After lockdown
Robert Frank
•Robert Frank was one of the most influential photographers in the 20th century. Robert Frank use to be a successful fashion photographer, until he felt like he wanted to explore photography more in depth as fashion photography was very limited for him as a photographer. After being a fashion photographer, Robert Frank decided to become a more creative photographer taking pictures of places he went and what he saw, with photography style described as a “mature style” which was characterised by“bold composition and ironic, sometimes bitter, social commentary”.
•Robert Franks pictures are all in black and white with a lot of personality in the pictures as they come across to be taken in the moment, meaning that the pictures weren’t a planned shot. From some of the pictures, visually you can see that the people in the photographs where moving as he took the pictures also, there is natural lighting in all of his pictures which can be seen from the scenery the pictures are taken and the shadows in the pictures stand out as well. Moreover, his pictures are in black and white which goes to show the era in which he took his pictures in also, from the facial expressions on the pictures he has taken you can see that some of the people in the photos have some emotion attached to them being upset, frustrated and feeling casual from the lives they have to put up with.
My Pictures
Edited Pictures
•The overall evaluation from my work is that in my opinion I think I have gotten some of my images to lok like Robert Frank’s, I know this because my iages are In black and white having some contrast being recognisied in the pictures from the bright colours in the pictures to the shades of black in the pictures. Moreover, in my pictures I have got a lot of shadowing that is quite apparent, standing out in the pictures due to using Robert Frank’s technique of black and white photography. The shadowing in the pictures is key as it goes to how where the source of light is coming from in an image also, showing how harsh or soft the lighting is within the environment. Another reason as to why I thought the technique of Robert Frank’s black and white photography does justice within this theme for the photo shot is because lockdown was a very inytense time for everyone mentally and physically, the emotion that most people probably came across was lonellyness and his technique worked with this as black and white pictures are very hollow which can show lonellyness, especially in my pictures in which their arent people around.
Favourite Edited Picture
•My favourite picture that I thought was best In terms of having a similar style to Robert Frank was this one. This is beause it was a picture taking in the moment with peiple minding their own business either socialising in small groups or wokring. Moreover, this picture links with the theme as there are glass pains in betwenn tables showing people cant be to close and there are empty tables acroos the restaurant with people sitting on them, in order for people to be socially distanced because of the virus
life after lockdown
week 2
- image analysis
- file management
- standards and ethics
- code of conduct
First Steps…
You should all have a valid login now…which provides you with a Hautlieu Creative account so that you can start creating and curating your own blog.
This will be your normal, everyday login details. We expect you to check your emails everyday too…and get used to using Office 365, and follow us on Twitter too (HautlieuC).
The blog provides you with a neat platform to showcase your learning, including knowledge and understanding and of course your images too.
You should have access to the Media Drive (M : Drive)…this is where you must store all of your files. Please check this!
You will learn how to adapt and organise / store your image files…and you must manage file sizes carefully.
We will teach you step by step how to use the blog…then it is down to you to look after it and present your work as thoughtfully and carefully as possible. Each time you publish a blog post…it is then available for marking and assessment. Unpublished work will not normally be marked…thus affecting your progress and success.
We will also comment on your blog posts regularly…which will appear as a new email for you. You are expected to respond to the advice and suggestions accordingly. We constantly track your approach to lesson, independent study and overall progress.
You are expected to take responsibility for your own learning, progress and success during A Level Photography…
- minimum 2-5 hours per week
- weekly photo-shoots (200+images) must clearly demonstrate a range of approaches, reinforcing the techniques you have learnt
- complete any / all incomplete class tasks by the end of the week
- contribute your own photo-assignments + research
- seek out opportunities to extend your learning / skill level
- if you are absent you must check the blog daily / check emails for instructions, guidance and advice and complete in accordance with deadlines for your teaching group (these may change depending on timetable).
IMAGE ANALYSIS | GROUP EXERCISE 1
Using the matrix TECHNICAL – VISUAL – CONCEPTUAL – CONTEXTUAL below work in small groups to analyse and interpret this image :
Who – what – where – how – why?
IMAGE ANALYSIS GROUP EXERCISE 2
Using the matrix TECHNICAL – VISUAL – CONCEPTUAL – CONTEXTUAL below work in small groups to analyse and interpret this image :
Analysing Robert Frank – Trolley, New Orleans
File Management
- Use the Media Drive : m / drive
- Create folders and label them—you must be able to locate your files quickly
- Save all images from camera in unique folders (you may want RAW images, JPEGS etc)
- Each photo-shoot should be in a seperate folder
- Compress images that you want to upload to the blog (1 MB is fine)
- Be Selective ; edit your choice of images
- Quality is better than quantity
- Only delete total disasters
- Embrace happy accidents / creative mistakes
- Be open minded !
Representation, Standards and Ethics
Photographers (and artists in general) can bend, twist and manipulate the truth…they can influence how we understand the world.
BBC Age of The Image : CLICK to WATCH
How we represent individuals and groups of people, change the context or meaning, and how fair we are with our methods has huge importance on the way we work…
We all have various roles and responsibilities…
Hautlieu School Code of Conduct
- Be respectful when taking photographs…think about who / what is in the frame !
- Ask permission where necessary…
- Do not trespass on private land / derelict property
- Copyright…beware !
- Always credit the artists work in your research / blog
- Do not plagiarise / copy
Year 12 induction task
This induction task is designed for students who wish to study A Level Photography. The aim of this task is to ensure that the students who have chosen this option both understand the requirements of the course and start as early as possible in their journey towards completing it to a high level. The work you produce in this Induction Task will be used to stimulate a group discussion during the first session as well as form the beginning of Component 1 (coursework) in your 2 year A Level Photography course.
You can explore all / any of the genres below to express your unique ideas…
- Abstract — try close ups and alternative viewpoints and extreme cropping
- Landscape / Architectural — try inside or outside
- Portrait photography — try people / people in places
- Still Life and Objects — try interesting lighting and sharp focus
Show how you can observe, interpret, define and most importantly photograph signs of …
“LIFE AFTER LOCKDOWN“
…influenced by the COVID-19 / Global Pandemic
You may want to explore visual aspects, or subtle and nuanced ways of photography various forms of
freedom, liberation, captivity, isolation, loneliness, care, health, separation, mental health, well-being, environmental impact, recovery, family, community, communication, social distancing, before and after etc
…that have an emotional or personal edge. There are many possibilities…some more obvious than others. You may want to compare and contrast these aspects of how our lives have been forced to change in the last few months…
You should / could start by photographing some of the following suggestions… and of course, you may already have some of these images so add them to your project
- yourself
- your home
- your family
- your belongings
- empty places / spaces
- walls, barriers, fences
- self-isolation / quarantine
- homeschooling
- health clinics
- testing centres
- businesses re-opening
- evidence of lockdown / restrictions + rules
- hygiene measures (eg sanitiser, gloves, masks etc)
- social distancing and “shielding”
- re-engagement with nature
- health and fitness
How to proceed:
- Research your own chosen photographer, who is he/she, what type of photography, what does it say to you?
- Analyse his/her work, style, technique, meaning – aim to show knowledge and understanding
- Respond – at least 3 different shoots that show development of your ideas and style as well as your understanding of abstract / portrait / landscape photography
- Edit – make a first selection and cut down the three shoots to the best ten images, and justify your selection in annotation and explanations / captions.
- Experiment – work on cropping / adjustments of brightness/ contrast/ colour correction and show further Photoshop / editing techniques if you can
- Evaluate – describe process of experimentation and reflect on learning etc.
- Present – put all work together in a digital format such as Powerpoint / Word
- Select your favourite outcome, print out as an A4 image if you can and explain why you have chosen it in your final evaluation (at least 200-300 words.)
Some examples…
Focused Examples
Family, environment, isolation, community, hope…
Indirect Selfie
What do his / her photographs say to you?
Look at composition and its visual elements e.g. line, form, shape, colour, tone, contrast, texture, depth, balance, space, perspective, viewpoint, foreground/ mid-ground/ background, rule of thirds. Look at the use of lighting e.g. natural lighting; sunlight, overcast, soft, harsh, directional, contrast and artificial lighting: studio, flash, spotlight, side-light, backlight, reflected light, shadows, chiaroscuro (light / darkness).
Use photographic language as above in your annotation and consider the artistic merits :
Technical , Visual , Conceptual and Contextual elements
- Write a short introduction about the work of your chosen photographer and the nature of their work
- Issues to consider:
- His / her attitude to photography and the advantages / disadvantages of the camera as a way of “seeing”
- Are we looking at fact or fiction (or a hybrid of both?)
- The ways in which your chosen photographer explored the formal elements in his / her work e.g. form, light, rhythm, line, texture, repetition etc.
Planning: Once you have spent time evaluating the work of your chosen photographer, plan a shoot using the same techniques and mindset.
You must: Produce a mind map showing your thought process and with breadth of thinking, and a mood board (collage of images) to illustrate the look and feel of your project.
Recording: After planning your idea, gather together what you need. When you take pictures try and think about everything that you see in the frame – what’s in the foreground, mid-ground, background. To achieve this you must think about composing your picture (use your zoom lens and/or distancing yourself from subject/object), focussing (sharp, soft focus), use creative exposure tools on camera like fast/slow shutter speed to either freeze or blur a sense of movement, different aperture settings to control the area of focus and sharpness in your picture. E.g. a high aperture setting like f5.6 will make the background soft and out of focus whereas an aperture of f16 will make everything in the picture sharp from foreground to background. Also by zooming in or using a telephoto lens you can throw the background out of focus, or conversely if using a wide-angle everything in the frame will be in focus. Crop your images carefully.
Editing: Editing is one of the most important aspects of photographic practice so be critical and selective when you choose your final selection of 5 images and then your best photograph. Think about sequence and relation between images – does your series of images convey a sense of narrative (story) or are they repetitious? Sometimes less is more!
You Must: Gather your images and select your final selection approx 5-10 images, describe each of the images, artistically and share your thoughts on what why you took and then selected the image.
You should: Show your ability to correct or adjust the images using image manipulation software, such as Photoshop, consider the cropping, adjust levels, contrast, colour correction, B/W and balance of the image.
You could: Use Photoshop to enhance your creativity and expand on the possibilities that photography gives you, include screen grabs to illustrate the techniques you have used.
Presentation: Think about how you present your work in terms of layout, scale, colour and perspective. A Powerpoint presentation is ideal for this and allows you to change and adjust your work easily.
The presentation of your photographs is just as important as your photographic images themselves. Consistency of layout throughout is paramount and try to make your work personal.
You must: Gather all of your work and present it in a logical and aesthetic manner…
A grid format could work well for this exercise
You should: Produce an individual and comprehensive response to both your chosen artist and the inspirations that the artist has given you.
Evaluation: Reflect, contrast and compare the images and ideas that you have taken and make an account of how you made the photos, development of idea and what you were trying to achieve and communicate. This can be done throughout your layout as annotation or at the end as part of your final evaluation. Finally, choose your favourite image and present this separately from your series of images. Accompany this with a brief written analysis (250-500 words) explaining in some detail what it is that you think works well about this image.
Make sure you bring with you: all of your work including your best A4 printed image for your first photography lesson in September 2020.
USEFUL LINKS
Photographs that changes the way we see the world …
Bruce Gilden’s approach to Lockdown portraits…
Julia Keil – re-staging famous portraits
Women Photographers x LOCKDOWN
Photo-Literacy
Good luck and get creative!
Email // j.cole@hautlieu.sch.je
Web // www.hautlieucreative.co.uk