I chose these 3 images as they all are focused on the difference focus can make. I like the first image as the bars in front are out of focus but the container behind the bars are in focus creating a sense of looking into something. The other 2 images are very in focus and focus on specific points. All these images are in black and white to create a more old , eery look to them. I chose these images to go together as I felt they were all similar in the sense that they all focused on one object and made one object the centre of the images.
I chose this set of images as I like the shadows created from the angle of the lighting. The shadows create creases and create a sense of depth in the images. All the colours in the 3 images contrast each other and create a nice sequence. I used artificial lighting to create these images as I liked how the different colours created different feelings for the viewer. The different colours also highlights different points of the tin foil highlighting different parts in each image.
For this set of images I got inspiration from Alfred Stieglitz shoot ‘Equivalent’. This was a shoot focusing on different patterns in the sky. All his images were black and white making the sky look very sinister. I chose to use these images of patterns in clouds as I found all the different patterns intriguing and how Alfred could make the sky look so sinister and dark. These were my final images as they were the most abstract looking. There is different tones of grey’s and I like how to dark’s and lights contrast each other creating patterns and shapes.
Frederick Sommer, born in 1905, was an Italian-born photographer raised in Brazil. He was considered a master photographer, as he started his love for art in photography in 1931. He originally explored his creative trait through watercolour ink and paper but later discovered his passion for photography in 1938, when he acquired an 8×10 Century Universal Camera. Sommer was a self-taught photographer who experimented with wild concepts for his creative work, he worked with materials as extreme as coyote bones and chicken parts. Frederick Sommer often mixed the two concepts of landscape, portrait and abstraction in his work, for example his portrait of Max Ernst, in my opinion, contains all three elements. Sommer’s landscape work of the vast desert he lived in is considered to be his most extravagant and impressive images, he referred these images as “constellations”. Frederick Sommer later died in 1999, in the desert in Arizona where he lived due to medical issues.
Analysis of Frederick Sommer’s work:
“Constellation Arizona” – Frederick Sommer (1943)
light: The natural sunlight of the image allows areas, such as the walking path, to be highlighted amongst the masses of trees and plants. As the sunlight is coming from above, harsh shadows are cast under them which contrasts against the blinding path.
Lines: There is a pandemonium of unorganised lanes scattered across the image in a chaotic manner, therefore they do not lead to a specific focal point.
Repetition: The only form of repetition in this image is the constant cluster of trees running through the photo, however there is no definite pattern.
Shape: The shapes in this photograph are organic and unorganised, giving the image a chaotic appearance.
Space: There is a wide depth of field to this image as the majority of the photo is in focus, there is also no negative space in the photograph as the whole image is busy in all areas.
Texture: The photo appears to have rough texture, as the trees and plants create a harsh, bumpy composition, however this is contrasted against the smoother and less harsh texture of the path running through the image.
Value/Tone: There is a varied tone from dark to light in this photograph as the darkness is concentrated around the middle third, however there are also scattered tones of darkness amongst the light, therefore I believe the tones are balanced.
Colour: The lack of colour in the image enhances the light and dark tones in their natural form.
Composition: As the photo is a natural landscape, the composition is very unorganised and organic. The rule of thirds could possibly be seen in the middle third, with dark areas concentrated here, but there is no recognisable geometric shapes in the image in order to understand the composition.
Minor White
“Matchstick Cove, San Mateo County, California” – Minor White (1947)
Minor White, an American photographer, theoretician, critic and educator, was born in Minnesota in 1908. His interest in photography began in 1937, as he combined his passion for philosophical theories with taking photos. He was influenced by how people would view photos differently on a personal level, which then began his photography career in black and white and colour landscapes. White created thousands of photos focusing on all areas of landscape, portrait and abstraction before he died in 1976, he also taught photography in many schools across America in his lifetime. His images create a string sense of juxtaposition in the sense of light and dark.
Analysis of Minor White’s work:
“Ocean, Schoodic Point, Maine” – Minor White (1968)
The natural lighting in this photograph is reflected onto the water to create and intense highlight running through the middle third of the image. It also allows harsh shadows to be cast either side of the highlighted water to create a juxtaposition of light and dark.
The leading lines of the two cliffs direct the viewers eyes to the middle third of the photo, this creates the focal point of the glistening water, the harsh lighting also accentuates this. There is also a repetition of jagged lines in the image that appear in the cracks of the cliffs.
There is a repetition of line used in this image, but in a more organic sense. The natural cracks in the rocks are present throughout the image, aswell as the curved lines within the curves of the waves.
The shapes in this photograph are organic and curved, however there is a sense of sharpness in the jagged rocks and cracks within the rocks.
There is a strong depth of field in this image, as the foreground of the cliffs are significantly clearer compared to the background, which is concealed by fog. The darkness of the cliffs create a negative space which acts of a kind of border to the natural chaos of the waves.
The image portrays a rough texture as the sharpness of the rocks is contradicted against the curved waves. The surface of the rocks is uneven and organic, which adds to the coarseness of the photograph.
There is a range of tones from dark to light in this photograph, as the highlights and shadows juxtapose each other. The darkest area of the image is the rocks towards the left and right third, which act as a border to the lightest areas of the image, that being the waves in the middle third of the photograph.
The monochromatic format of the photograph allows the viewer to focus on the highlights and shadows of the image,as well as the shape formation, rather than the colours.
The image has a balanced appearance as the dark and light tones are evenly distributed throughout the image. For example, the dark tones are concentrated around the edges of the image, which then surround the lighter tones concentrated in the middle third.
Comparison of White and Sommer’s work
Frederick Sommer and Minor White share similarities in there landscape work, especially the use of the monochromatic format towards their images, as they focus on tone and shape rather then colour. They also capture the chaotic composition of nature in it’s purest form, as well as the juxtaposition between light and dark.
Alternatively, White’s image here specifically focuses on depth of field and blurring out the background in order to create a focal point, whereas Sommer captures the landscape as a whole and rejects the use of a singular focal point. The juxtaposition between light and dark is much harsher in the work of White compared to Sommer, which suggests that White’s image became over exposed possible from using a wider aperture.
I have chosen this set of 3 images because I believe they link to each other well and hold many photographic techniques. For example, these images have a rough rigid texture due to their uneven surfaces. The repetition of water in the photos produces a 3D-like effect and show rhythm & movement. Additionally, each image has a bold dominant colour. The raindrop photograph on the left has a dominant magenta colour which creates an eye catching effect next to the dark black shadows that diagonally fall beside it. The central image has a warmer pink dominant tone which stretches from the top to the bottom of the photo. This bold colour is reflected on to the street puddle, creating a river-like effect and a main focal point for the observer. The far right image has a dominant blue colour, which creates a cooler temperature in the image. Furthermore, each image has a diagonal composition which captures the bright artificial light in an abstract way. The high contrast between highlights and shadows in these photos draw focus towards the center of the images. I think this series of vibrant and textured images form a striking display, sure to capture people’s attention.
Secondly, I have chosen these 3 nature-based images as I like the similarities and techniques they hold. In each image I have captured a singular flower using a low aperture setting to let it have complete focus. I really like the way these images show a shallow depth of field because of their harshly blurred backgrounds. Additionally, I have edited this set of images with a black and white filter as they reflect the work of Albert Renger-Patzsch. Furthermore, I enjoy the way each image links to one another in terms of composition. The main floral subject of my images falls directly in the centre of the frame, creating a clear focal point for the observer. Also, the main subjects in the images all have a similar circular shape which adds to the organic natural mood of the photos. I have also arranged these images in a dark to light gradient pattern, with the far left image holding the most shadows and the far right holding more highlights. The high contrast in these images really mirrors Patzsch’s work and creates a dramatic series of compelling photos.
Finally, I have chosen this set of 4 images to present in a gallery format because of their link to Saul Leiter’s ‘Red Umbrella’ work. One thing I enjoy about these photographs is the repeated motif subject which can be spotted in all images. I think this adds a sense of atmosphere and story to this series as it is like we travel with the umbrella, visiting new locations and scenes. Another thing I really like about this series of images is the clear focal points they hold. The striking colour of the red umbrella draws the observer’s attention while still allowing them to take in the whole mood of the image. Moreover, these images work well together because of their warm temperature and range of hot colours, which creates a cosy atmosphere. In addition, these images hold lots of experimentation with shutter speed and aperture which reflect Leiter’s abstract way of capturing photographs. I really like how this series of images has turned out in this gallery setting as I believe their bright saturated colours and abstract subjects create an eye-catching display.
I’m going to display my photography through a set of 3 images, a triptych, I want to make sure all of my photos have something in come- I have picked nature. I made sure my images don’t clash with each other and that they’re not random.
Finalising them on photoshop-
On Photoshop I turned all my 3 photos black and white and adjusted the contrast and exposure slightly to make the photos darker than they were originally. I did this to make the texture more visible
WHY- I decided to chose these photographs because they all fit into the same theme that I wanted to do- which was nature. I decided to turn them black and white to show the tones and contrast more as there’s a variety of different ones.
Presenting it on an empty gallery through using Photoshop-
After taking hundreds of abstract photographs this half term, I will be selecting and finalising what I believe are my most successful images.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
Above is my first grouped selection. The reason I grouped them together is that they are all have an ‘industrial’ sense to them.
Image 1 was part of my ‘REPETITION, PATTERN, RHYTHM REFLECTION AND SYMMETRY‘ project. This image specifically was a response to Ernst Haas who’s famous work is based on reflections on water with a high shutter speed (which is what I did for Image 1), and images taken with a low shutter speed, creating motion blur. This leads to Image 3- which was also a response to Ernst’s work. This was a low shutter speed image above the tunnel which created a long red line from the car the drove below me; this image took me a while to get right and I loved the outcome .
Image 2, being part of the same project, was a response to a different artist- Luigi Ghirri. Ghirri’s colour scheme is a lot more gentle (which is why this image is a little different to the other 2) however it fits in with the theme. I like this image because of its defined edges and delicate shadows.
Paper
Although this is a singular image rather than a group, its one of the most interesting abstract images I have taken. Unintentionally, in this photograph, I captured a face like shape (eye and nose). However that is not the only reason- I also like the pitch background and high contrast shadows and highlights. I also like the centre composition.
I created a gallery each for my images to see them from a different perspective. I really like the way my paper image looks on its own with a contrasting wall behind it- it really stands out to me.
For my finalised images I got inspiration off Alfred Stieglitz in taking pictures of clouds for my image selection in my images being abstract pieces. I chose to get inspiration of Alfred Stieglitz for my final abstract pieces because when I looked at his pictures they caught my attention due to his pictures of clouds looking very abstract in the way the clouds are come across in the pictures for example, some of his pieces don’t even look like clouds although they are due to the contrast of black and white which manipulates the picture into not looking like clouds also, the patterns and repetition of the clouds look very odd making them interesting to look at as you can almost use your imagination in making the picture come across as something else and not clouds.
As you can see from this image of Alfred Stieglitz you can use your imagination to manipulate the picture to come across as something else, with this specific image I think of the clouds looking like fluff that comes out of a puffer jacket or a pillow purely using my imagination on what I think the cloud appears to be.
Finalised Pieces
These are my finalised pieces that I have chosen because I thought they looked best in comparison to my other abstract pictures.
The process I went through in making the first one in black and white on the left was by editing the picture by going onto the levels in order to change where the shadows should have been darker in order for the contrast between the black and white to bounce of each other and then I changed the image to being black and white. Moreover, I would say this picture is the closest to Alfred Stieglitz purely because the picture is in black and white with the shadows are heightened just like his pictures.
As for the picture on the far right, the process of editing that I went through in order to get the image to what it looks like was that I went onto the hue and saturation and changed the picture in having the colours of the picture being a bright blue. Also, I cropped out the image, so it was just the clouds in the picture however, this makes it very abstract as the image doesn’t appear to be a cloud and the bright colours in the picture eliminates the natural lighting or natural shadows meaning it would be difficult at first knowing what the picture is.
Finally, the picture in the middle was made through the editing stage of getting the picture on the left on top of the picture on the right merging it into one. Once that was complete, I went onto the black and white image that I put on top of the blue one and I put the opacity down which enables you to see the bottom layer of the image. After that, I changed the colour of the image in order to make the clouds be highlighted in red to make both images contrast from the colours of red and blue.
Overall the middle picture is my favourite out of the three because of the way it doesn’t look anything like a cloud but maybe a weather report. Moreover, I feel like I have taken Alfred Stieglitz’s style of photography and evolve it in the way that it’s not in black and white which goes to show we are photographers in different time periods and this makes my photograph probably catch the eye of a younger person due to how bright the colours are in the image which makes it stand out from the rest.
My selection process was based on what images complimented each other well. In this case I went with the theme of still life objects, particularly the beautiful patterns on some of the objects.
To accentuate the patterns and shapes I cropped the images further.
Over half term please can you start and attempt to start taking portraits.
The theme will be ‘Modern Day Heroes’. If you have a family member or a family friend who is a carer, nurse, doctor or works for any of the emergency services or as a key worker then please take some portrait images of them ensuring their uniform and/or equipment is clearly part of the portrait.
Roles could include any essential or key workers in the following areas:
Doctor
Nurse
Carer
Bus Driver
Firefighter
Police
Delivery
Paramedics
Health worker
Cleaners
Shop assistants
Postal workers
Hairdressers/Barbers
If you don’t have a family member or family friend who works in these areas then you may have to be brave and try to photograph those you may come into contact with. eg: bus driver, delivery man, refuse collectors, cleaners, barber, hairdresser, postman etc.
The photograph doesn’t always have to include a person. It could be object based.
THINK ABOUT
Where, What, How, When, Who.
Lighting / Day / Night / Indoor / Outdoors
Aperture settings / Focus / Depth of Field
PLEASE HAVE YOUR IMAGES READY TO VIEW WHEN WE RETURN Monday 2nd November 2020
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Saul Leiter was a painter and photographer who started his career in the 1940s and 1950s. He left theology school and moved to New York to pursue painting at age 23, this is also where he found his love for photography. In the 1950’s, Leiter held his first colour photography exhibition at the Artist’s Club, where groups of Abstract Expressionist painters would meet and admire other work. Leiter furthered his career as a fashion photographer throughout the 1970’s, he worked for publications such as Elle, British Vogue and Nova. The Saul Leiter Foundation was founded in 2014, a year after Leiter passed away, this was dedicated to preserving the art and legacy of Saul Leiter.
Analysis of Saul Leiter’s work:
“Taxi” – Saul Leiter (1957)
Light- The lighting in this image seems artificial as harsh shadows are created in both the foreground and background of the photograph. The lightest areas of the image are the vibrant colours of the car roof, these areas are juxtaposed against the gloomy shadows inside the car and in the foreground.
Line- The lines in the image are rather geometric and artificial, however they create a contrast as the curved lines blend with the straight lines. The lines lead your eyes to the direction of the shadows cast under the roof of the car, and to the dimly-lit figure inside the car.
Repetition- There is a repetition of curved and straight line in this image, which creates a geometric shape to the image.
Shape- The shapes in the image are geometric, this give the image an artificial aesthetic.
Space- The image has a wider depth of field, as the foreground is blurry, however the background is in focus. There is a rather a large sense of depth in the photograph.
Texture- The texture of the metal gives the photograph a smooth appearance, the highlights on the roof also add to the smoothness of the image.
Value/Tone- The image has an extreme contrasting range of tone, as the vibrant colours of the car clash with the muted shadows in the shadows and the figure’s clothing. The lightest part of the photo is the colours of the car and the darkest areas are in the shadows. Overall, the image tends towards the darkness.
Colour- The coloured parts of the image are very vibrant and intense. They display the harsh primary colours of red and yellow, which are jarring when placed next to one another.
Composition- There is a simple composition to the image as it doesn’t seem busy. There is not much going on in the image, and the photo focuses on the juxtaposition of light and dark , and colour and black and white, rather than the composition. The rule of thirds has not been used in this image, in my opinion.
