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Independent, Reading, Task

The Formal Elements

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Tiago De Sá 

Light:

The brightest part of the image is the center, the rest of the image is dark.

The background is pure black and there are dim shadows throughout the piece of paper.

The photograph has soft artificial lighting as a flash was used to take this photograph. The light starts brighter at the top and goes dimmer and dimmer down the paper.

The way the paper is set-up acts as a leading line towards the bottom.

Lines:

There are very scrunched and curvy lines throughout the paper. The paper is rolled into a paper binocular which creates a kind of cylinder leading towards the bottom / the dark “abyss”.

The lines show the image to be still.

Repetition:

The paper in itself forms a circular pattern almost like a scrunched paper binocular or a paper rose.

Space:

The space in this image appears quite centered on the subject. It seems as if the photographer took the picture using a wide angle lens as it is close to the subject but seems as if the paper goes into the “abyss” forever.

Shape:

These circular and wavy texture throughout the photograph create these organic shapes throughout the photograph.

Texture:

The texture of this image appears to be wavy, curvy and curly. This is evident by the fact that the paper seems to be scrunched up then rolled to form this object.

Value / tone:

The image contains a range of tones from very dark to natural lighting. There are harsh and dark shadows and backgrounds but also dim and bright tones. The image is in “black and white” as the only main colours in this coloured digital image are black and white.

Composition:

The focal point in this image is the paper as the photographer has used the rule of thirds to successfully set the subject in mid-center.

The photographer has clearly balanced the colours in this image so that it is only white in contrast to the black background.

Independent, Reading, Task

Paper Paper Paper

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In this image I shot pieces of folded, crumpled and ripped paper.

I shot this image using harsh, unnatural, flash lighting. The light is positioned closely above and to the right of the paper which creates extreme shadows and opposing bright white elements in the composition. This gives the image a lot of contrast and tonal range. I also de-saturated the image to accentuate the negative background and the highlights.

I used a large aperture to make the paper stand out from the background. I used a low ISO to prevent grain and to prevent my image from being blown out sue to the unnatural light. The image has a satisfying repetition of horizontal lines created by the way I folded the paper. I also used pieces of ripped and crumpled paper to frame my image. This framing also gives the image some nice depth of field as it adds layering to the composition. The ripped and crumpled paper used to frame my image has also given the image a horizontal line of symmetry.

Independent, Reading, Resource, Task

the world is beautiful

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Task Practical / photoshoot-homework

Respond to Albert Renger-Patzsch 1897-1966

We will aim to expand our approach to photographing things around us…whilst responding to influential approaches in the development of modern photography.

By responding to Albert Renger-Patszch and The New Objectivity you will be able to classify a greater range of your images whilst learning more about the Formal Elements and Adobe Photoshop techniques including :

  • Cropping
  • Image Adjustments
Photo Safari

Remember to : Describe, explain and evaluate your process carefully.

Homework Due Date = Wednesday 23 September

Independent, Reading, Resource, Task

Image analysis and interpretation

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Arnold Newman | Portrait of Alfred Krupp | 1963

Substance:

  • This photograph was taken by Arnold Newman in 1963. Arnold Newman’s family was Jewish
  • The image is a portrait of a businessman as seen by the uniform and position of the hands, interlinking together supporting his head. This could suggest that he’s supporting this business or that he is the boss. This man is the business owner of Krupp industries.  
    • Krupp industries was a major weaponry supplier to the Nazis during World War II. 
  • Arnold Newman took this portrait for a sort of revenge as he was Jewish and Krupp industries supplied machinery and weaponry to basically kill thousands and thousands of Jews (Arnold Newman’s ancestors). 
    • In an interview, Arnold states that when someone suggested that he should do a portrait of Alfred Krupp he immediately said no, when asked: “Why not?” Arnold immediately replied with “I think he was the devil.” 
    • In this same interview, he says, “I wanted to use one of the rare times, I wanted to put a knife in his back.” In a way, Arnold succeeded in this as a few years after this photograph was taken, Krupp got imprisoned.

Composition:

  • The main focal point / where the viewer’s eyes draw to first is the man in the mid-centre of the image.
  • The rule of thirds has successfully been used. This is evident as the man would be between the 2 bottom points if the image was on a 3 X 3 grid.
  • The man is the main subject in this image as he is lowered centred in the photograph. The heavy machinery and materials are also subjects as they aren’t blurred out so the photographer clearly made the sharp and clear so the viewer has an idea of what the place was.
  • The photographer has purposely used the lighting technique to show the model’s face crystal clear with a sense of intimidation and fear as portrayed by the harsh shadows around his face and photograph in general. In addition, the photographer used the lighting technique to light well the background so other subjects like the trains being built are visible.
  • The main colours used in this photograph are mostly harsh shadows and the vibrant orange train.

Lighting:

  • The light is coming from the windowed rooftop.
  • It consists mostly of natural lighting with harsh shadows surrounding the subject and the surrounding around him.
  • The image is slightly under-exposed giving the impression of power, obscure and intimidation.
  • As the natural light seem quite bright, it may be assumed that this photograph was taken during midday hours.

Techniques the photographer used:

  • The photographer has used a quick shutter speed as movement and detail has been recorded to a crisp sharp focus.
  • It has a large depth of field as the majority of the image is in focus.
  • The author has purposely underexposed the are around the subject to create a sense of obscurity. On the other hand, the author underexposed the background in order to have the objects in focus and well lit.
  • The camera in this picture is shown to be stationary as it isn’t a moving image.

Editing:

  • The image is in digital format and could have been edited to adjust the light to make it more natural so it isn’t too bright but not too dark.

Atmosphere:

  • This photograph makes me feel lowered and intimidated by this businessman as his facial expression and the way he seems to be in control of the factory makes me (the viewer) feel relegated to him in a certain way.
  • The photograph appears to be showing a message of how the Krupp industries were evil in a certain way. I think this because the model has an evil grin on his face and taking into consideration the historical side of Krupp industries people may argue that they enabled/gave what the Nazis needed to kill thousands of people.

Response:

  • I like Arnold’s work as it has a significant meaning behind it and it’s quite personal to Newman having to photograph someone who to a certain extent took part in the killing of many Jews when Arnold himself is a Jew.
  • The image is successful to an extent as Arnold did indeed get revenge as Krupp went to prison after this picture and the meaning behind it were revealed.
Independent, Reading

The Formal Elements

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INTRODUCTION

There are seven formal elements of photography which consist of: Line, Shape, Light, Repetition, Space, Texture, Value/Tone, Colour and composition. However in every photograph sometimes it can be challenging to find all seven elements. For example Martin Creed is a very well known artist for using light in several ways. To get inspiration for my photos I started off by looking at Martin Creed’s photograph of his paper ball, which personally I found very peculiar as it’s such a basic photograph but has several formal elements. However as it’s in black and white it allows more contrast to be shown which enhances the photo in several other ways. I then went on to try to recreate his photo which I feel worked to a certain extent.

PAPER SHOOT

BEST IMAGES

Light- The light in these photos are artificial as we used a torch to add harsh lighting to these photos rather than a soft natural lighting, which I feel enhances the texture of the paper. We can also chose the angle in which the light is coming from therefore we can adapt where the shadows are.

Line- I adapted the lines of the paper in different ways such as folding the paper in vertical lines as well as scrunching the paper up and then unfolding it to make a pattern of unorganised lines.

Repetition- In several of my photographs the lines and shapes are repeated this is due to the way I chose to fold them.

Shape- The shape of the paper is adapted throughout the photos as I decided to keep the paper flat whereas sometimes i decided to keep the paper scrunched up.

Space- As you can see I have rarely left space between the angle of the camera and the paper its self as I chose to take macro photos rather than distant photos.

Texture- The texture of my photos look very rough and uneven.

Colour- In my photographs I have chosen to adjust them to black and white as I feel that it enhances the photos and shows more details.

Composition- I decided to place the paper in the center so the photos didn’t look uneven.

Independent, Reading

Image analysis INTERPRETATION

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The Reel Foto: Arnold Newman: The Environment Is The Portrait | Environmental portraits, Still life images, Portrait
Alfred Krupp portrait by Arnold Newman

Arnold Newman was an american photographer mainly known for his environmental portraits. The photo above is very unusual, This is due to the way in which he is the main focus point of the photograph as well as his eyes are looking up at the photographer making him feel intimidated by the view point of the photographer. Furthermore we don’t seem to pay as much detail to the background as its the non-focus however it looks like this photograph was taken in a train station of some sort which adds details to the overall mood.

Additionally I also feel that the way the lighting comes from above adds extra detail and contrast to the photo as the lighting adds harshness creating more tones. Overall this photo may make the viewer feel very sympathetic towards Alfred Krupp as he looks concerned due to the way he is looking up. secondly the mood of the photo is very unpleasant as the dark tones have a drastic effect on the mood overall.

Independent, Reading, Resource, Task

contact sheetS

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Task

Create and publish a contact sheet (evidence of a photo-shoot)

Contact sheets were an incredibly important tool and an inevitable part of the photographic process until digital photography rendered them obsolete. As Lubben notes, they constitute “a record of one’s shooting, a tool for editing, and an index to an archive of negatives.” Indeed, she continues, the contact sheet “embodies much of the appeal of photography itself: the sense of time unfolding, a durable trace of movement through space, an apparent authentication of photography’s claim to transparent representation of reality.”

Contact sheets also represent the economy of the roll of 36 frames, as opposed to the limitless numbers of shots that digital photography affords today. As such, they provide the physical marker of an era when each frame had a value, and was therefore more precious.

Then develop and publish a blog post that tackles the following…

  • Describe and explain what a CONTACT SHEET is…include examples like the ones provided below
  • Then Create a gallery / grid of images from a recent photo-shoot and upload as a contact sheet to a blog post
  • Answer : Why are contact sheets useful / essential ?
  • Try annotating / colour coding / cropping / arranging your contact sheet to show the start of a selection process
  • Look at the examples below which include work by William Klein and. This key photographer was known to include contact sheets as part of his final images as well as experiments.
  • Remember…you can Add your images to a Powerpoint, then convert to a JPEG and upload to the blog using JPEG File Interchange Format or try creating them as screen shots.
  • You can make a contact sheet by using the Snipping Tool (Shift + Windows+ S) and copying a gallery of images from an image folder
  • Or create a Contact Sheet in Adobe Photoshop
William Klein
William Klein
A creative approach to how a contact sheet could be used…
Using Contact Sheet II in Adobe Photoshop