landscape photography is spaces throughout the world. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes. Landscape photography is done for multiple different reasons as it shows a range of perceptions of the world, adding features and details within the world. In this blog post I am going to analysis rural landscapes as they show and provides natural resources, as well as wildlife habitat meaning that they are all outdoor photographs.
Overall I fell that my first initial thought of this project was that it was going to be something in which I would not be interested in however as I slowly started to develop ideas for photo-shoots as well as understanding multiple different artists perspectives of their photographs relating to identify; I started to create more of an interest to this project. One of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project is that Claude Cahun’s photography is very different to others as its very original. There were several challenges in which I faced while creating this project. For example putting the photo shoots together took a lot of planning as I needed to find models willing to go out of their comfort zone to put on feminine items. The most important thing I learned is that you have to experiment with different lighting and backgrounds before you come out with the best result in which you can.I came up with my final solution by analyzing each photo I took and decided which one had better features. During this project I had to other come several objects such as understanding other artists opinions as well as understand and develop new ideas of my own. If I was to redo this project I would maybe take a closer look at place as in the majority of my photos its more focused on the models identity rather than the place which could of reflected their identity. I feel like I could improve on my planning skills as although I planned some photo-shoots I could of thought to include place.
These photos i’m going to take have been self inspired through doing research on several different artist and taking ideas from individual ones. I have decided to take head shot photographs and i’m going to work and edit them in Photoshop to change them and adapt them to the topic of identity. With these images below i’m am going to use Photoshop to disguise the models face to hide their identity.
Idea 1:
For this idea I decided to open up several of my best images in Photoshop. First of all I started by duplicating the layer then went to the blending options and unticked the green and red colours. Finally I moved one of the layers to a slight angle and it created this effect. I feel that this worked well as it hides the identity of the model as it shows a second picture of the same person creating the thought of mystery
Idea 2:
For this idea I decided to use Photoshop to crop the photographs to a square. Then I duplicated the layer and converted it to a smart object this therefor this allowed me to use the filters and develop my photos using the mosaic filter.Overall I feel that this worked well however it may have been better if I changed the photos to black and white by desaturating them in Photoshop first before i started to edit the images.
Idea 3:
For these images below I tried to experiment by using a hand held projector which I feel worked well to a certain extent as they way in which the projected disguises the models face reflects that it could be hiding her identity. However if I was to do this again I would project different images onto the wall as the ones in which I chose were all quite dark making the tones not stand out as well as they could have been.
In this photo shoot I was highly inspired by the photographer Lissa Rivera’s as I like the way in which she made a males femininity to a strength rather than a weakness, whereas other people look at people wearing women’s clothing a negative attribute. I’m going to try and recreate some photographs similar to her work by asking a male model to wear feminine clothing as well as add my own idea of switching it to the other way round so that a female is wearing male clothing.
Later on once I have gathered the best selection of images I have i am going to use photo shop and desaturate some of the photographs. Once I have done that i’m going to use the blur tool to disguise the faces so it shadows and disguises there identity to a further extent. Furthermore i’m also going to leave several of the photos in colour and experiment with the saturation and contrast. After that I am going to use the eyedropper tool to get the exact colour of the models skin colour to then use the paintbrush to yet again disguise their identity.
Inspired by Lissa Rivera’s
Best Images:
I personally feel that these images worked best as they clearly show how clothes should not define your identity relating to the series called ‘beautiful boy’ by Lissa Rivera’s. Additionally I also believe that these photos may have worked better if I used natural lighting instead of artificial as it may of added depth to my work. However I do think that they still have a good reflection to identity and I like the way the black and white photos adds more contrast to the original shadows.
Claude Cahun was a french photographer whose work was both personal and political and often undermined traditional concepts of static gender roles. The majority of her photographs were self portraits which helped Claude Cahun develop her ideas of masculinity as well as femininity, and how she felt that it depends on the situation. She believed that Neuter is the only gender that always suited Claude Cahun, meaning that she did not believe in specific genders.
Originally her name was Lucy Schwob however she decided she would rather be called Claude Cahun as the name is more gender neutral. In French the name Claude could either refer to a man or woman which she was ambitious about. Additionally she also took her surname from her grandmother Mathilda Cahun.
In 1937 Claude Cahun moved to jersey along with her stepsister and lover Marcel Moore. They were imprisoned for activities in the resistance during the occupation, and decided to stay in jersey after the world war.
Claude Cahun’s Photography
Lissa Rivera’s is a fine art photographer based in New York City who released a series of photographs called ‘Beautiful Boy’.
This involved the same male featuring in a variety of photos. This series shows the male dressed up in female clothes; this attire implies that the clothes and accessories do not define the identity of a person. The flowy garments assign a female label to them, with skirts and dresses being the main focus on what gender you are.
Lissa Rivera’s found that while taking her first photographs of her series ‘beautiful boy’ she found it very emotional as she could clearly tell how vulnerable her model was; who eventually became her romantic partner. Furthermore the model and Lissa Rivera’s began taking photos every weekend to continue her series, which lead to her winning the magnum photography award for several of her pictures in 2017.
She felt that it was of importance to show his femininity as a strength rather than a weakness, which helps the message across that the clothes you wear do not identify who you are as a person.
Lissa Rivera’s Photography
Image Analysis
Claude Cahun’s Photography
Lissa Rivera’s Photography
Claude Cahun used black and white tones in his photograph which creates a dark environment adding several tones as well as depth. Additionally the background of her photos appear to be simple and empty, which creates more tension and focus to the model.
Lissa Rivera’s photograph is very different in comparison to Claude Cahun’s work as she has chosen to use colour within her photographs creating them to become eye catching and empowering. The way in which she has chosen to use feminine clothes and accessories on the model creates the idea that femininity shouldn’t be seen as a weakness and should be seen as a strength. Furthermore the background of her photographs are busy which may take the focus of the model itself.
A similarity which both artist have taken into account is the way in which both of the models faces are disguised in certain ways as, Claude Cahun has used a cut-out of someone’s chin and asked the model to place it other hers which helps the idea of identity as it hides the models face. Lissa Rivera’s used a similar idea of disguising a section of the models face with a blindfold covering the eyes hiding a key feature of the models face, which impacts the way you view the photograph.
However the artists also have multiple differences in these two photos in particular as Claude Cahun’s photography was taken in the 1900s where as Lissa Rivera’s photography was taken in more recent years, therefore you can see a clear difference in where technology has adapted to have better quality photographs. Additionally Claude Cahun has chosen to take his photos in black and white creating harsh and dark tones whereas Lissa Rivera’s has chosen to use colour. However they both equally have a different selections of details in several ways.
Identity is the fact of being who or what a person or thing is, which could include there surroundings, upbringing, gender, cultural, social identity, geographical identity, political identity as well as loss of identity. An example of this could be someones environment which they are surrendered by such as a coastal environment as it could impact them in several ways due to their surroundings.
Going ahead i’m going to take photos in relation to the mood board above as I feel the way the artists have disguised the faces to almost hide their identity, makes the photos have more depth and meaning to them. Furthermore I would also like to take photographs of peoples environment which they are surrounded by as I believe this adds to peoples identities.
Candid portraits is a photograph captured without creating a posed appearance, as the person who is in the photograph is unaware that it is being taken. A candid portrait photograph is one of the most simple types of portraits to take. Similarly street photography is also very simple as you can capture one doing everyday things or even something people normally wouldn’t do.
PHOTO PLANNING:
Who – I’m going to take photos of people that are unaware of me capturing them
What– I’m going to take photos of people who are doing everyday things such as walking through town
When– I am going to conduct the shoot over the next week going into several different places.
Where– I am going to take my photographs town, cafes,
Why– I’m taking these photos to capture people in there everyday life which will make the photos more interesting as well as have more meaning to them
How– I’m going to take these photos in natural lighting or artificial and make sure the people in which i’m photographing do not notice I am taking a photo.
MY PHOTOS:
MY BEST PHOTO:
I feel as if this was the best photo in which I have taken as its more focused on the people in which I have captured rather than the non-focus of the background. The lighting of this photo is natural which adds clear perceptive and details to the photograph.
Henry Mullins was a Canadian exporter, farmer, and politician. He was the first professional photographer to arrive to jersey to start taking portraiture business in his early years of taking photographs. He mainly focused on taking photos of the upperclassmen including people who were doctors as well as political people.
Henry Mullin’s Photography
I feel as Henry Mullins’s work is very unique to others as he has changed and adapted his work to create diamond Cameos, which adds more details and focus to the portraits in which he has taken. I’m going to try and recreate a Diamond cameo similar yo Henry Mullins’s as I’m inspired by the work in which he created. I’m going to do this by taking several head shots of a model and edit them to black and white through Photoshop. I’m going to use these head shots below to attempt to recreate Henry Mullins work.
Overall I feel that this successfully portrays what Henry Mullins achieved as my work shows very similar aspects to his. I done this by taking head shots of a model and then edited them in Photoshop by desaturating the images. After I done that I used the Elliptical Marquee tool in Photoshop to draw an oval shape around the subject then I repeated this step another 3 times and added a plain white background layer.
Environmental portraits are photos that are taken when a person or a group of people are in a situation. For example where they live, work, or doing anything which relates to the environment around them. Additionally another point in which all environmental photographs must have is the background surrounding them as it must associate with what they are doing at that moment.
Leonard Bernstein , 1968
Arnold Newman is an example of a photographer who took environmental portraits. His work was mainly in black and white which allows contrast in the photos as well as a different visual aspects. One visual feature which Arnold Newman was successful with was the strong engagement with the camera and person in the pictures eyes as well as the neutral facial expression which was shown.
The environment of this photograph looks like its taken in a theatre due to the seats at the back, it also seems that the man in the center of the photograph is an orchestra conductor as he is using a stick to point to what look like music notes. Additionally I also feel that the overall tone in this photograph has very sharp and harsh contrasts, however you can also see the artificial lighting coming from above the seats at the back.
PHOTO PLANNING:
Who – I’m going to take photos of people working in their work environment.
What– I’m going to take photos of people looking directory into the camera lens as well as the objects to do with their profession around them.
When– I am going to conduct the shoot over the next week going into several different places.
Where– I am going to take my photographs in the central market, coffee shops, restaurants, hairdressers and the fish market.
Why– I’m taking these photos to show different concepts of peoples work environment as well as getting good quality environmental portraits.
How– I’m going to take these photos in natural lighting and make sure that the person in which I am photographing is engaged with camera.
MY PHOTOS:
MY BEST PHOTOS:
I personally feel that these are my best photos due to the direct eye contact with the camera which adds contrast to these. As well as you can clearly see what’s going on in the background which adds significant detail to the photograph. Technically these photos were taken in a studio using harsh lighting which added depth. There is a lot of contrast between the black shades as well as the white shades in the photograph which adds detail. Visually I feel that these photos work better in black and white as the colour may have an impact on the smaller details of the photo. This therefore means that the photo has harsher tones.The composition of the bottom two photos are more plain as I used a white background so that the focus would be only on the musicien himself, whereas in the top photo I wanted a busy background to show there busy working environment which surrounds them.
Overall I feel that these photos work well as it clearly reflects the environment which they are in which adds more of an understanding and meaning to the photos themselves.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004) was a French photographer who enjoyed capturing candid photos and was considered a master at taking them.
He also contributed to the Magnum which as a community of photos which represents some of the world’s most renowned photographers. It has been ongoing since the 1930s and includes all types of photos such as industry, society and people, places of interest, politics and news events, disasters and conflict.
Henri Cartier-Bresson : Children in Seville, Spain, 1933.
The photo above has quite a darkening effect due to the dark tones as well as the natural lighting which has been used. In the photo you can see the repetition of what the people in the photo are wearing as they are all wearing similar clothing which adds detail.
Additionally you can see the way the photographer has used his space by spacing out the people in the photo apart rather than together. The main focus of this photograph is the people in the photo i feel this because the background is very plain however it does have sharp edges to it.
Robert Frank ; “Trolley — New Orleans,” 1955.
Robert Frank’s photography is very different to others which may be because of the harsh black and white tones or even the style in which they were taken.
I feel as if his photography is more staged rather than being a real life event which would occur. The main focus of his images is the people which he he has chosen to use as well as the environment which they are in.The lighting of these photos came across as natural however I feel that the photos may have been manipulated in photoshop to add harsher tones.
I think the meaning of these photos in which he has taken everyone has a different opinions and the use of black and white tones may hide peoples personalities as the viewer won’t be able to get a sense of the people if you cannot see the colours of the clothes which they are wearing which usually reflects ones personality.
Personally I like the way he has chosen to use black and white in his photographs as it adds variation. However I also believe that these photos may not be appealing to everyone due to the lack of colour.
COMPARISON
I feel as the two images above are very similar in several ways as the both feature people with similar facial expressions as if they concerned or confused which adds character to both of the photographs. Additionally I also feel that the use of black and white adds harsh tones as well as a variety of contrasts. The majority of the people used in both of the photos have engagement with the camera which therefore makes the viewer feel more invested in their photographs.
However they are also different in many ways as Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photograph is focused on children whereas Robert Frank does not have a specific group of people which he is basing his photos on. Furthermore in Robert Franks’s photograph you can see the different reflections shining onto the bus considering that in Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photograph there isn’t any shadows or reflections but there is jagged edges which adds detail.
