Luke Gram

The first image shows a woman whose body is transparent showing a mystical scene of the forest, flowers and the clouds and sky. However the second shows a masked subject whose clothes and mask have been removed and replaced with a beautiful scene of still water on a lake which perfectly reflects the headland made up of stone, bushes and flowers onto the pristine water. Both of the images show a human subject and some of their body has been replaced with images of nature. Both also have plain backgrounds framing the natural images as if to prevent too much being seen and missing out the meaning and link to personal identity. However, the first image shows a forest and sky with a view of mountains in the distance. But the other image has a very short depth compared to the depth of the other image.

Evaluation of my Outcome

Overall I am happy with how my Luke Gram inspired work came out, and I believe it has both inspiration from my chosen photographer’s work but also some of my own attempt. I like the range of colours and the way all of the edits turned out. If I were to redo this photoshoot and edit I would find a good day with good weather but also with bad weather and take photos of the same things in different weather conditions. I believe this would further be useful to contrast and show personal identity and emotions.

Pablo Picasso

The first image shows Pablo Picasso in a small room with a small window, a drawing of a bull on an easel behind Picasso and a light drawing of the same bull in the air. The second image shows a subjects face that has been partially lit in the middle of a circle of light. Both images use light to draw in the air using a camera on a slow shutter speed. The first image has a longer depth because it was taken in a lit room compared to the second. The second image has been taken in a dark room with the only source of light being the apparatus used to make the drawings with the light.

Evaluation

With my take on Pablo Picasso’s light drawing’s, I am quite happy with the way it turned out but I know how I could improve if a redid the photoshoot. I like how all the photos came out and my favourite was the image that resembles a mirror of light with my face being framed in the centre. This image turned out better than I thought and really captures both Picasso’s way of expressing identity and my personal identity. If I redid the photoshoot I would take a wider variety of photos and drawings and use a different range of colours.

Kensuke Koike

The first image shows a mans face in black and white with sections of another individuals facial features added to the image. The second image shows a subject wearing a mask and jumper that has been replaced with a combination of different images whose face and neck are in black and white. Both have sections of different images on them that shouldn’t be there and don’t match and both images have black and white facial features. Both images have a fairly short depth of field. However the first image is only in black and white compared to both colour and black and white in the second.

Evaluation

Personally, I am happy with the way my take on Kensuke Koike’s representation of identity. I like the image above because it resembles Kensuke’s work and shows many different portions of images that fit together. It captures the general method of slicing portions of different images and putting them together to shows a variety of different settings. If I redid the photoshoot I would go to a wider variety of locations to take photos and use many more photos and rectangles to show different settings.

Luke Gram Inspired Edits

I edited two variations of the inspired image one with the mask visible and the other with only a part of my face visible. Personally I prefer the one with the mask visible as it divides my face and shows my neck which keeps the idea of a person as well as the image behind. I believe the variation without the mask dehumanises the subject and removes humanity from the identity.

How I Edited the Images

First, I had to open both of the images I needed to create this edit as seen below using photoshop.

I then dragged the image on the left onto the image on the right and adjusted the size of the image on the left to perfectly fit the one on the right whilst assuring to keep the aspect ration of the image. I then used the quick selection and magic wand tool to remove the parts of the image on the left that I wanted to remove for example my jumper and mask and then deleted those selected sections to reveal the other image beneath. Finally, I used the quick selection tool to select any parts of my jumper and hood that were not deleted when I previously deleted the sections i wanted to be replaced with the other photo.

Finalised Edits

Above are my 6 finalised edits inspired by Luke Gram which I have edited them all the same to create a series of similar images. Out of all of them, my favourite outcome is the Lake Mouth edit because the trees and bushes are being perfectly reflected on the lake from the angle I took the photo from creating a straight line going through the centre of the image. This line creates the illusion of a mouth under the mask.

Pablo Picasso

How I Took the Images

I took the images in the photography studio and I got the Picasso light artwork effect by setting the camera to take photos on a slow shutter speed of about 10-15 seconds. After setting up the shutter speed and pressing the button to take the photo, I first shined my phone light on my face from the bottom, sides and then top to illuminate my face for around 3-5 seconds. I then waved my phone light around for the remainder of the time before the image was taken. I experimented with random movements but also with circles to try and frame my face with a circle of light as well as illuminating my face once at the beginning, twice at the beginning and the end and none at all. I found that the best outcome was by illuminating my face just at the start. For the image that has a purple outline, I had some help from one of my friends Matthew. When I was illuminating my face and drawing he had his phone on a purple image and was moving it slowly to outline my body.

Finalised Edits

To edit the images above I just boosted the brightness slightly to give the light drawing a more vibrant and neon-like look and to illuminate my face slightly more.

Finalised Image

The image below is my favourite outcome from the light painting photoshoot I took because the image below showcases both the bright light artwork but also my face which is being framed perfectly by the circles of light. To me the image resembles a mirror in which I am seeing my identity.

Kensuke Koike

For the Kensuke Koike inspired outcome, I used all of the images I edited for Luke Gram and sliced them and put them together to look similar to the work of Kensuke Koike.

How I Edited the Images

Firstly, I put all of the edited images in the same document perfectly on top of each other. Next I unlocked the background layer meaning I had layers 0,1,2,3,4 and 5. Then I created a new layer (layer 6). Next I worked out the size of the image and divided by the number of images I had which was 6. I then went on layer 6 and created a rectangle from the top left corner of the image sized 792 pixel width and 3168 pixel height. I then duplicated the layer that had the first rectangle on 5 times and after duplicating moved them next to each other covering the whole image. Finally I dragged the images individually above the separate rectangle layers and created clipping masks for all of them.

I created 3 sliced finalised images and made all three of them have a second variation of the original but my face and neck were black and white.

Finalised Image

My finalised image to do with Kensuke Koike is the image below. I chose this image because it has a wide variety of colours and scenes and out of the 5 other ones I believe the combination of the range of colours and the face and neck black and white contrast positively which in my eyes looks the best.

Photoshoot 1 & 2

I will photomontage these images using both the first photos of me and also the images of nature as well similar to Luke Gram. After I have the finalised outcomes I will attempt to reference Kensuke Koike as well by editing my finalised edits in a way which is similar to his famous work.

Photoshoot 3

I will edit some off these above to reference Picasso and his famous light paintings.

Luke Gram

Luke Gram is a Canadian Photographer who creates serene images by combining landscape imagery with silhouettes. His technique of editing his photographs is known as double exposure. Gram travels the world to take photos of landscape and portrait imagery and shares his story on Instagram.

Picasso

Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker and theatre designer who spent most of his life in France. He is most famous as a painter because of his paintings such as the Weeping Woman, The Old Guitarist and Girl Before a Mirror.

Pablo Picasso began to experiment with new things such as light painting as you can see below which began in 1949.

Kensuke Koike

Kensuke Koike is a Japanese contemporary visual artist who buys images and then distorts them by cutting out sections and replacing, rotating and cutting our sections of the images.

My Ideas

I really like the idea of replacing the silhouette of a person with an image linking to personal identity. I also like the idea of Picasso’s light painting because it can be used to present personal identity using words or drawings that could be completely planned or random. Lastly, Kensuke Koike’s method of showing identity is very interesting and I want to attempt to recreate this using the images I will edit from Luke Gram.

Comparison

Luke Gram’s way of expressing identity is through linking people back to nature. He removes their features and replaces it with a scene that everyone can relate to and enjoy. However, Pablo Picasso shows his personal identity by drawing images with light which would not have been seen if he had not been using his camera. I also believe that Kensuke Koike’s method of representing identity is very unique and interesting because it shows a false identity and different emotions and ‘people’ in one persons identity. I believe Luke Gram is expressing the general link of humanity to nature but Picasso and Koike express personal identity and how it differs with everyone.

Who Was Claude Cahun?

Claude Cahun was a French, Lesbian Photographer who was born in 1894 and died in 1954. Cahun was born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob and was famous for her self portraits that showcased a variety of personalities and identities. Cahun moved to Jersey in 1937 with her partner and was on the island during the German Occupation when she and her partner produced anti-German propaganda.

What is Identity and how can it be influenced

Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality, looks and/or expressions that make a person who they are. Identity is important because it is completely unique and no-one can have the same identity and feel the same way. Identity can be influenced by many things including people, places, memories, family and feelings.

On the mood-board above, I have displayed the idea of being alone, family, mourning and a facade or false identity. I believe these topics are very powerful when looking at a project about personal identity because it is difficult to represent how we feel after events such as a loss of a loved one and what happens to us after that loss.

On my second mood-board I have displayed further ideas about being alone and losing a loved one but linked it to the idea of a grandparent being like a second mother or father to their grandchildren. I have also shown the idea of taking off a mask like facade to reveal the actual identity of a person.

Henry Mullins

Henry Mullins is one of the most famous Jersey photographers producing over 9,000 portraits of islanders from 1852 to 1873 at a time when the population was half of what it is today (55,000).

Mullins would produce a Diamond shape cameo to show 4 different angles of one subject.

In photoshop I made 4 ovals and put them into the shape of Henry Mullins diamond cameo, then I put the 4 images on top of the ovals, then made them a clipping mask so that they went into the oval. Then I increased the contrast and brightness on each of the 4 images so that they popped more.

Candid photography is photography taken without the subjects knowledge or without eye contact.

I like the images above because the first two have a good depth and are in black and white. However i like the last image as the background is both colourful and blurry and his eyes are very colourful and the whole image is different from the first two as it is extremely vibrant.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French humanist photographer who has been called a master of candid photography. He viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. He was born on August 22nd 1908 and died on August 2nd 2004.

I like the image above because it gives a sense of realism and a completely natural environment in which the children are playing and are unaware of his camera. The children are portrayed as being wild as they are playing in a street which would not be used as a children playground. The street seems to be abandoned with rubble on the floor and broken walls. Also the image has been framed by the broken wall to shows that the children playing are in their own world.

Bill Owens

Bill Owens was born in 1938 and first became interested in photography in Jamaica. He was drawn to the works of 1930’s documentaries. In 1967 he got a job as the staff photographer of a small local newspaper. He worked Monday – Friday using 35mm camera and during free time on Saturdays and Sundays, he took photos for his own “Suburbia” series. It was finally published in 1972 and it sold 50,000 copies throughout 3 editions.

I think the image above is one of Owen’s strongest portrait images because it really links to the idea of the American dream and the youth of when the image was taken. It shows a small child on a ‘Big Wheel’ tricycle. He is also holding a toy gun of some sort and is wearing a very stereotypical cowboy outfit paired with the boots. He also looks like he is guarding his area with his gun and tricycle.

My Interpretation

Best 5

Final Image

I have chosen the image above as my final attempt at the street photography and candid post. I like the image because the handrails are blurred and create a leading line to frame the image. The worker is operating a roller machine which compacts the sand/ dirt and the machine, high viability jacket, handrail and sand all are both natural and man made colours. The subject is to the right of the image using the rule of thirds and the man is the main focal point of the image.

Portrait photography is aimed towards capturing the personality of a person or group by using effective lighting, backdrops or poses.

Mood Board

Contemporary Portrait Photography

Contemporary portrait photography is described as being comparing a portrait photograph of your time against one of that from a much earlier period.

Environmental Portrait Photography

An environmental portrait photograph is a portrait in which he subject is in their usual environment such as their home or workplace. For example a mechanic in a garage or a police officer in a police station.

Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is an American Photographer and is most famous for her portrait photography of some of Hollywood’s most famous celebrities.

Photo-shoot

I will take photos of first line workers in a medium-close up similar to what Annie Leibovitz does in her photos. I will go to different first line workers that might not be usually described as first line to show that more people are classified as first line that we first think.

Mind Map

My Photo Shoot

Best From Photo Shoot

Best Front Line Image

I like the image above because it shows an elderly woman with glasses on looking at the camera with a sense of despair but also hope. This image is strong because she is wearing a mask preventing full understanding of her real emotions so everyone will interpret her expression in different ways.

Environmental

Harry Callahan was an American photographer and educator. His first solo exhibition was at the art institute of Chicago in 1951. Some of his works include Lake Michigan (1953), Chicago (1949) and La Salle Street, Chicago (1953).

Contact Sheets

Filtered Down Contact Sheets

Best Images and Edits

My Best Image

I believe the image showing the fern leaf is the best. First of all i believe it really shows how complicated nature is and fits with the idea of natural lines as there is many lines that connect other lines etc. Also i believe it really shows natural lines as the leaf isn’t perfect and is missing some of the small leaves showing that nature is not perfect. To create the very green and natural image, i edited the original image so that the edge of the leaf had some darker borders. Secondly, I made the fern leaf have a more natural and green colour that brighten and make the fern more vibrant.