First I increased the canvas size so that it would be easier to fit my overall reflected images. Then I opened the photo in which I wanted to work with and I duplicated the original layer. After that I pressed (ctrl+T) and shift to keep the image the same proportion as well as convert it to the other side of the campus. Next I duplicated both layer one and two and pressed ctrl + T to reflect it to the bottom half of the canvas.Overall i feel that this worked well as it allows you to see the image in a different perspective.
These images group together because of the warm, earthy colours. They also display thoughts of isolation and staying at home through abstract photography.
Group 2:
These images group together because they all have high contrast between the lights and the shadows. They also have an eerie feel when displayed together.
Group 3:
These images group together because they all are of water and water reflections. They also all have quite earthy colours with increased saturation.
Group 4:
These images group together because they all are of natural forms in black and white. They also have a large tonal range between the highlights and the shadows.
Final Gallery
I chose these images because i think they best display my use of black and white photography to show contrast and texture in natural forms. These images work well together in response to Harry Callahan because of their similarity to his photographs by using black and white photography of natural forms.
Method
Find an image on the internet of an empty gallery – i chose a plain black and white gallery as it compliments the images i have chosen to display.
Select a group of your most successful images that look good displayed together and bring them into Photoshop in different layers.
One by one, resize the images to the desired size, using Ctrl and dragging the corners of the image to change the angle of the image to match the angle of the wall that its placed on.
Then right click on the image – blending options – drop shadow, then change the values and angle of the shadow to fir the gallery that the images are in, taking into account the position of the lights in the room.
He was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his fifty-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was known for the New York art galleries that he ran in the early part of the 20th century, where he introduced avant-garde to many European artists to the U.S.
patterns in the sky 1918-1937
Harry Callahan – natural forms
Callahan left almost no written records—no diaries, letters, scrapbooks or teaching notes. His technical photographic method was to go out almost every morning, walk through the city he lived in and take numerous pictures. He then spent almost every afternoon making proof prints of that day’s best negatives. Yet, for all his photographic activity, Callahan, at his own estimation, produced no more than half a dozen final images a year. He worked with multiple exposures-double and triple exposure, blurs, large and small format film.
Trees at lake shore (1912-1999)
Compare and contrast-
Technical– The lighting in both photos have light and dark tones and different sections of the photo are in contrast with each other. In Alfred’s photo the clouds are very dark and grey as they are surrounding the small spot of sunlight that’s trying to shine through. The photo looks like it was taken in natural light as it’s of the sky which is a natural environment. Whereas the Harry’s photo contains extremely sharp contrasts between the black and white. The trees are completely black and the background surrounding them is white which makes the shape of the trees very visible. Both photos look like they’d be taken on a high shutter speed as no movement would be in the photos and neither photos look blurry. Harry’s photo is taken with a wide lens whereas Alfred’s photo is quite zoomed in to capture the sun peaking through. Both photos probably had to be on quite a high IOS level in order to capture the sunlight coming through the clouds(in Alfred’s photo) and the white background behind the trees(in Harry’s photo).
VISUAL- Both photos are of the natural environment but in a different form. Alfred’s photo is of the sky which both dark and light tones without any particular shape as it’s photographing the clouds and sun. The only repetition there is the clouds whereas in Harry’s photo repetition is clearly shown through the trees. In Alfred’s photo the shape of the trees are very defined because of the background being white which creates a very sharp contrast.
CONTEXTUAL- There isn’t much historical context behind both photos and not a personal meaning either. I think that both photos where just taken in order to show the different ways an abstract photo may be presented , as they chose to do that through nature.
CONCEPTUAL- I think that neither photographs have a meaning as it isn’t a photo that’s trying to get a message across to viewers as both of the photographs aren’t powerful enough. I think that both artists wanted to photograph the idea of ‘abstract’ in their own way.
MY RESPONSE- contact sheets;
Plan- I went out during the day when the sky wasn’t all blue and clear but neither when it was so cloudy you couldn’t see the sun. I wanted to capture the sun peaking and shining through the clouds. I then went out closer to the beach because that’s where the sky is the most open without any tall buildings surrounding it and I photographed the trees near it. I took photos of them because I knew when I edit them on Photoshop they would turn out similar to Harry’s style and they were very symmetrical due to the way I photographed them.
Evaluation
I took photos of the sky during the day time as Alfred’s photos are taken in the daylight and not at night. If I was to take the photos at night you wouldn’t be able to see the clouds. I waited till the sky was filled with dull clouds and photographed them from a low angle to create the perspective of looking up. I waited till the sun came out too in order to capture it peaking and shining through the clouds in the way that Alfred does. I also took photos of the nature when I found repetitive sections of it, such as trees being behind each other in a repetitive order.
My favourite images in black and white and cropped–
Overall I like how my photos turned out because I captured the sun coming through the clouds which creates a similar effect to Alfred and I think my photos turned out in a style similar to his. I also like how the second group of photos I took of the nature turned out because by turning them black and white , the background goes much lighter than the trees as they get completely darker and the shape of them becomes much more defined. The trees also turned out quite symmetrical and repetitive which makes it even more similar to Harry’s work.
First I looked at all my abstract photos and decided one which ones were the best. I choose the ones that were the most colourful and used the rule of thirds as they tended to look better as it had more composition. For the other images I used other good images that I’ve taken to fill in the blanks.
Editing
After, I edited them and boosted the saturation by about +10 to make it ‘pop’ and cropped it to line up with the rule of thirds, to make it more visually pleasing.
Displaying
To Finalise the images I found 2 different art blank picture galleries on Google. I grouped my photos into two groups, portrait and landscape. The gallery with the large wall would be for landscape photos, and the other for portrait photos. I put my abstract photos into the galleries, I put the image onto the canvas in the gallery, where I wanted it to be, then in Free Transform mode I pressed CTRL and dragged on the corner of each edge of the image and moved it to the corresponding corner of canvas space in the gallery to match the perspective of the gallery and its 3D walls. After the image was properly on the canvas, I added Drop Shadow and angled it to the same as the direction in the base image. Then, I added bevels to the image to make it look 3D to make it realistic. To add the effects I right clicked the layer then went to blending options. As there were blank spaces in the gallery I put in other good photos that I’ve taken.
Evaluation
I really like how it turned out, as they look realistic and they all fit in naturally. The drop shadows and bevels really worked well. Overall, it was relatively simple but took a long time to added all the images in.
This image has a shallow depth of field as it is very 2D as in the background there is not much going on and it is plain. The image creates a sense of layering as the objects’ shadow is blurry, due to the large aperture, this makes it clear that it is separate to the rest. The white balance in this image has created cool tones as the photo appears very white and grey.
Jaromir Funke
In this image Funke has used a small aperture to create a slight vignette around the outer portions of the picture making the centre lighter. This creates a deep depth of field because it creates a ‘tunnel effect’ which makes the image look like it goes on further away and makes the centre of the image the viewpoint. The image is also sharp as the shadows are clear shapes. The white balance in this image has created warm tones as the white areas of the photo appear more cream with warmer tones.
Jaromir Funke-1929
Similarities
Both images have natural lighting coming from behind the camera intensively creating contrast between light and dark areas in the images. They are both black and white which creates a large tonal range as the light has made these with the different shadows. Both photographers have placed objects in front of the light to create a range of harsh and soft shadows with different abstract shapes. Both images show a slow shutter speed was used as the photo seems slightly underexposed.
These pictures were an attempt to demonstrate how “to hold a moment, how to record something so completely, that all who see [the picture of it] will relive an equivalent of what has been expressed.” The ‘Equivalents’, as they are known, aim to create a sensation in the viewer similar to that experienced by the photographer.
Selection
I chose these images as they contain come potentially good shapes- To find them I cropped certain areas as you can see below.
To also relate these images to Stieglitz’s a little more, I altered the colour balance by a small amount (towards the red) for similar colours to his work. I also increased contrast to make the images more dramatic.
Repetition, Pattern, Rhythm, Reflection and Symmetry Mood Board
Mind map of ideas
Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer, born in 1864, who has been said to be instrumental in making photography an accepted art form. One of the ways in which he did this, was through his photo series ‘Songs of The Sky’, from 1923 to 1934, where he explored patterns and rhythm created in the clouds. His aim for the viewer was to cause them to have the same emotional response as him, at the moment in time he took the photo, and to also display that the content of a photograph was different from its subject.
Alfred Stieglitz – Songs of The Sky –
Image Analysis
Alfred Stieglitz – Songs of the sky
This black and white photograph taken by Alfred Stieglitz, which is a part of his ‘Songs of The Sky’ series, displays a dramatic image of the sky in which the clouds are swirled around the photo, almost splitting it into two halves, a light side and a dark side. These streaks in the cloud’s curve create soft leading lines, causing your eyes to wrap around and be lead to the dark patch in the left hand of the photo. This area of the image strongly contrasts with the bright, highlighted, white clouds and the right half of the piece. In addition, the texture of this photo appears to be slightly rough and grainy, although this could be by choice or simply due to the time period in which this was taken, and the camera quality then.
You can see here that the lighting of this photograph must be natural as it is taken of the sky, and it also creates strong and dark shadows. I think that Stieglitz used a quick shutter speed here, as the clouds would have been moving, so he would need to do this in order to catch a crisp and sharp image. Also due to the fact that all of this frame is in focus, I believe that he used a small aperture, allowing for the whole of the image to be clearly seen and observed and creating a wide depth of field.
Furthermore, you can tell from the angle and the framing of this image, that Stieglitz was aiming to show a subjective point of view, creating an inclusive experience of that particular moment, like he does in his other pieces from the ‘Songs of The Sky’ series.
Stieglitz Inspired Photoshoot
Plan
Contact Sheets
For this photoshoot I used fast shutter speed to allow me to capture sharp images of the moving clouds and the patterns they create. As the light changed throughout the shoot, I had to change the ISO and the white balance with it. Where I didn’t do this you can see some of my images are over exposed, which I have crossed out in red as I won’t be editing them. Although the photographs highlighted in green are the images I will edit, as I believe they best link to the themes of repetition, patterns, rhythm, reflection and symmetry, whilst also displaying a clear and focused image.
Photoshop Development
To create images that looked similar to the work of Stieglitz, I used photoshop to convert these images into black and white, whilst also increasing the contrast and texture, and lowering the exposure with the camera raw filter. After this, I went back with the dodge and burn tool to further define the shadows and highlights.
Final Image
I think that this edited image from my photoshoot in the style of Stieglitz is my best, as the space left in the center creates an almost triangle and with it a focal point, which is framed by the surrounding clouds. I also believe that this image could link to the theme of symmetry, although both sides are not identical, if the photo were split vertically down the middle and mirrored, it would result in a very similar final image.
This image was inspired by the following photograph:
This image is of an artists called Marco Andras who explored Kaleidoscope photography.
In my image I attempted to create a similar look and feel to Marco’s image. In similarity, both our pictures are taken outside, use natural day lighting, are in black and white, have harsh shadows and dark tones and is uses both vertical and horizontal edits to create a Kaleidoscope image.
This image was also inspired and selected by my project about Alber Renger Patzsch
Step 1: Open photoshop and select the image you want to use.
Step 2: Select > All, then CTRL + C
Step 3: Go to Image > Canvas size. A window like this one should pop up:
Then, multiply the width by 2 and input what you got in the width section. After that, anchor the image to whatever side you want it to go then press “Ok”. P.S. You can change the image location through the Move tool.
Step 4: CTRL + V then move the image to wherever suits best.
Step 5: Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal.
Step 6: Click on the main layer, left click and flatten the image.
Step 7: Select > All, CTRL + C Follow Step 3 but do it for the Height instead.
Step 8: Edit > Transform > Flip Vertical, then CTRL + V.
Step 9: repeat Step 4 then used the duplicate and fix tool to connect the images together to create a feeling that they both go into each other.
Step 10: Go to file > save as, and save your image.
shows people walking in the street- very typical of Metzker. Double exposure creates abstract effect. black and white- typical of the time period. Could suggest the busyness of life? composition is just of people in a straight line but because of the exposure it fills the frame. The lighting is natural which helps the photo not look forced. The tone is dark.
Alfred Stieglitz –
light streaming in through the Grand Central Terminal in New York- cant see the light anymore because of buildings surrounding it. Heavy use of light. light toned considering its in black and white. Like light shining down from heaven.
For this project I explored Alfred Stieglitz’s work on patterns in the sky.
Patterns in the sky Mood Board
Mind-map of ideas
Alfred Stieglitz
Alfred was an American Photographer born in 1864. He was an integral part in an acceptance of photography as an art form. He created a portfolio of pieces which focused on the pattern of things. His favorite way to capture this was by looking up and shooting patterns in the sky.
His images possessed flat, faded, contrast with bright, harsh highlights. They are also populated with pattern with little negative space.
In this image Alfred captures an astral, melancholic but also euphoric, free emotion with this image. It seems as if an artist has painted on these clouds. The flat contrast and sandpaper clouds give this image a faded, rough texture.
He has used natural light streaming in from the corners of the image to give it an astral glow. He has still managed to, even though there seems to be harsh daylight, combat this by slightly under exposing the image by deepening the blacks of the sky by using the cameras film. he has used a small aperture to gain detail in the distant cloud formations and give the image depth. Alfred might have used a slightly longer exposure to drag the clouds across the composition. He has also used a higher ISO to add a fine grain to the image.
The image also contains a pattern of the repeating clouds sweeping upwards. There is also a significant depth in tone created by the blackened sky contrasting with the white clouds. The image is also populated with little negative space.
Photo Shoot Action Plan
Who: There will be no subject in this project.
What: Cloud patterns.
Where: I will be shooting near my house and close to the coast as there tends to be more interesting cloud formations there.
When: On an overcast day
How: DSLR 50mm – 80mm lens with small aperture capability, lense hood to prevent glare and a ND filter to grab blacker skies. Walk down to coast and around my neighborhood looking up and following cloud patterns
Why: To experiment and learn more about photographing pattern.
Contact Sheets
Final Compositions
My above compositions portray the experimentation of pattern. They use deep tonal range with deep depth of field. My compositions featured similar elements to Alfreds work.
My image
Alfred’s image
Both pieces include soft sweeping pattern work. They both use de saturated deep black negative spaces with the cotton clouds contrasting in the foreground. They both Make use of natural lighting adding accents to the patterns from a certain direction. They both use a small aperture to gain detail and depth in the clouds. They both consider a longer exposure time to drag the clouds out more. Both images hold a gloomy astral emotion. Finally, one difference is Alfred uses a flat contrast and my image contains a deeper contrast.
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