Today we learnt how to create a mirrored/kaleidoscope effect on photoshop. The image above is my final outcome. I chose this image by Ralph Eugene Meatyard because the simplistic shapes that were created by the tree’s twigs allowed the image to look slightly geometric and more complex than original image was.
I believe that the my final works well because of the image being black and white. This gave it an eerie effect which works with the original image which was sparse and and empty but now the four images have been reflected it make a whole other shape, allowing the viewer’s imagination to wander trying to figure out what the shape looks most like.
Alfred Stieglitz was an american photographer who’s career lasted for fifty years. He was born in 1864 and died in 1946.
Ernst Haas was an Austrian photographer who had a 40 year career .He was born in 1921 and died in 1986.
Both images are similar because they both have repeated shapes in them even though they are two totally different things. The water, in Haas’s image, has another picture reflected. However the ripples in the water has caused the reflection to look distorted allowing the viewer to try and interpret where and when the image was taken. In Stieglitz’s image, the clouds are wispy and thin at the top of the image allowing us to see columns in the sky. However, as the viewer looks down the image, the clouds seem to merge together allowing the viewer to try and see if the bulk of clouds makes a certain pattern or ‘image’ in the sky.
Although the images have similar patterns, the colours in the images are nothing alike. In Haas’s image, the majority of the colours are warm tones like oranges and reds. This allows the viewer to guess that the images are either taken during sunset as the sky turns red/ orange. Or the image could have been taken near an orange/ red building.
The source of the water is also not clear, it could be from a river, pond, lake or a puddle. The only thing the viewer notices is that there has been something in the water which has disturbed the still water and causing all the ripples.
In Stieglitz’s image the colours are very cool toned which gives the image a calm mood which allows the viewer to understand the message of the image without getting distracted by all the contrasts of colours in the image.
Siskind was born in New York in 1903 and died in 1991.
Siskind focuses on taking photographs that don’t necessarily have a meaning however, his images can be interpreted in many ways. He focuses on layers in his images, it is very rare to see smooth surfaces in his work.
Siskind identified with the ideas and styles of the abstract expressionist artists in New York in the 1940s.
Plan:
Shoot (Contact sheets on another blog)
I’ve included the images I took in school because I feel that you can see how i have used the different white balances and changed the ISO best on those images. This is because the main feature in those images didn’t move allowing the viewer to notice the difference in tone.
Images taken in school
Favourite Unedited outcomes:
Favourite edited outcomes:
Favourite images
The coloured image is one my favourite images because I feel like the viewer not only sees colour but the different textures on the tiles. .I took this using a 120 ISO and the fluorescent white balance, with a manual focus and shutter speed. .The smooth looking texture of the tile at first glance contrasts the little details of the of the central details like the diamond which is slightly raised and each petal in the centre of it is also raised. The cool tones in the image gives the viewer the feeling of relaxation and this is also supported by the simplicity of the design on the tile.
The black and white image is the same but i went onto photoshop, turned it black and white, then made the contrasts in the photo more prominent so that the viewer can see the bumps around the flower like shape in the centre of the image.
The black and white image also shows the camera focused on the centre of the tile because if you look on the left hand side of the image you can see the details of the tile almost merge into one thing.
Both of this artists uses reflections in their images which creates an original and symmetrical image. Ernst Haas use the reflection of the water which gives a quite a natural way to the image.He also uses colors in his images . You can find the images in your daily life . We can notice in the reflection of the water that there are buildings so it’s quite visible. Its dynamic movement He crops the subject to increase the sense of abstraction. Alvin Langdon Coburn’s images are very symmetrical . We can notice a lots of triangles which forms.The reflections that he uses are those of the mirror which creates a repetition . We can notice some type of cristals he uses for his images.
Today we learn how to repeat a image on Photoshop. I choose this old image of a building that i like because of the architecture I thought it really was interesting . It looks like it’s reflected by the water but I just copy and paste it next and over to the original photograph. I had to select the image , copy it , increased the canvas size , paste the original picture in the white space , transform it flip it horizontally or vertically and then flattened the image.Repeat it three times.
To start with I selected my image and copied it. I then increased the canvas size to double the width and length of the original. I pasted my image and flipped it vertically and lined it up so that it was even to my original image. I then selected both images together and flipped them horizontally, creating the mirrored effect.
I photographed the woods in different IOS settings. As you can see the lower the IOS setting was , for example in the first photo it was 400, the less light got in and it was very dark and almost all black. I then photographed it each time I increased the IOS setting and as you can see the photo got much more lighter and the last photo turned out almost white.
SURFACES-
Ernst Haas- Ernst Haas was an Austrian-American photojournalist and color photographer. During his 40-year career, Haas bridged the gap between photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium for expression and creativity.
He focuses on a variety of surfaces such as roads, reflections in mirrored buildings or even water. My process for this photo shoot will be to take photos of different parts of a road such focus on the surface of the pavement and even certain areas like a zebra crossing. I will also photograph reflections in puddles or windows and if it rains then keep the background out of focus and make the raindrops the main focus.
My response-
AARON SISKIND– Aaron Siskind was an American photographer whose work focuses on the details of things, presented as flat surfaces to create a new image independent of the original subject. I was inspired by the photographs he took of the roads and all the different broken textures. I’m going to take own photos in the style of Aaron Siskind as his work fits perfectly into the theme of texture.
Here’s some of my favourite photographs he’s took-
RESPONSE- CONTACT SHEETS
My main focus during this photoshoot was to take photos and capture different textures I could spot in the woods. For example, I took photos of various parts of broken woods and trees, the reflection in the small stream and several branches. I took photos of extremely tall trees from a much lower angle in order to create the illusion of the tree looking right over the person looking at my photograph, this also makes the tree seem much bigger than it actually is. While I was doing that I was using different IOS settings, as you can see in my contact sheets I had to take the same photo a couple of times to get the perfect lighting with the IOS setting. The darker the setting was the more details you could see on the tree barks and cores as the colour was much sharper and you could see the patterns on them a lot more clearer. I also took photos of corners of roads as I wanted to take photos in the style of Aaron.
My favourite photos
EVALUATION-
I really like how my photo shoot in the woods turned out because I wanted to focus on the different textures and reflections in the stream as well as exploring the different IOS settings. I was inspired by Aaron because he captures texture in a different way such as paint or wood peeling off different walls which is why I wanted to photograph the broken tree barks and photograph them up close. By changing the IOS settings it made a big difference in how much detail you could see in each photo and how much light was getting let in.
PROCESS- I selected all of my original photograph and added extra canvas size to then paste it again, I then flipped the photo horizontally to the right. I then created a new layer and added more canvas size at the top to paste the two images over but vertically now to create my final image. Once I finished that I increased the hue and saturation slightly to create a brighter effect.
Part of “Manufactured Gestures” series- Nick Albertson (2012)
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1983, Nick Albertson has had his abstract photography exhibited in Chicago, Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and New York, as well as international exhibitions such as the Pingyao International Photo Festival. Albertson’s work focuses on patterns and repetition in ordinary, mundane objects. Nick Albertson’s work combines photography, video, and sculptural forms
Analysis of Nick Albertson’s work
Part of “Manufactured Gestures” series- Nick Albertson (2012)
The harsh, artificial lighting powerfully illuminates the white hangers in order to create a clear contrast against the harsh, black background. No shadows are formed in this photograph as the background itself is black, therefore any shadows produced would have blended into the surroundings.
There is a clear juxtaposition between straight and curved lines in the photograph. There is no specific direction created in the image as the lines direct the viewers eyes in all directions around the screen. The lines are used more as focal points for the image rather than leading lines as there is not one singular focal point.
There is a pattern of repetition using lines in this image. The contrasting straight and curved lines create a type of swirling pattern around the screen as they cross paths with one another.
The aesthetic of the image is very geometrical and artificial, as Albertson lays out the coat hangers in a specific way and bends them in order to create juxtaposing lines. Shapes such as squares and triangles are created due to the specific bending of the lines.
The photograph is very shallow and has no use of depth of field as the whole image is in focus and no shadows have been created with the use of light. The image focuses purely on the patterns of repetition and contrasting light and dark. A larger aperture may have been uses for this image, perhaps f.4, as there is no need to capture the depth in the photograph. A fast shutter speed was probably used for this still-life image and I also believe a high ISO was used in this image in order to create the harsh whiteness.
It is difficult to depict the texture of this photograph as the image itself is very flat, however there is a lack of rough or jagged edges in the photo therefore I believe the texture must be smooth.
There is little range in tone or value in the image as the shades of black and white are completely contrasted. The blinding white lines are juxtaposed with the gloomy, black background in order to create a distinction between black and white. The whole image tends towards darkness, as the thin lines are the only use of light.
There is no colour in the photograph. This is because Albertson’s aim was to signify the contrast of black and white and focus on patterns of lines rather than the use of colour. The lack of colour allows the viewer to appreciate the pattern of lines in it’s purest form.
I feel as though this image is balanced as the whole image is busy and there is no negative space. The composition of the image is artificial and geometric, however there is no use of the rule of thirds in this image, as there is no specific focal point.
Harry Callahan
“Chicago” – Harry Callahan (c.1950)
Harry Callahan, born in 1912, was an American photographer and educator who taught at both the Institute of Design in Chicago, and the Rhode Island School of Design. Harry Callahan held his first solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1951, he later held a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York between 1976 to 1977. In 1978, Callahan represented the United States in the Venice Biennale. Callahan was one of the few innovators of modern American photography noted as much for his work in color as for his work in black and white, and also often used the method of multiple exposures in his photographs.
Analysis of Harry Callahan’s work-
“Detroit” – Harry Callahan (1941)
The soft, natural lighting in this photograph allows for a slightly more subtle contrast of light and dark. The shadows and highlights in the image are not harsh, however they still depict a clear juxtaposition.
There is a clear pattern of repeated, jagged lines in the image. The lines direct the viewers eyes upwards, and towards the top third of the image.
A repetition of line is exemplified in the photograph, as the plants create both straight and curved lines that juxtapose against one another. The plants are then reflected in the water to create a further sense of abstraction, as the reflected lines are distorted by the water.
The shapes in the image are both geometric and organic as some of the lines are straight, however they become distorted and curved by the water.
There seems to be a narrow depth of field in this image as the reflections of the plants in the foreground seem to be more in focus than the background. I think this image was taken with a larger aperture and maybe a longer shutter speed in order to capture the motion of the water.
The water in the foreground of the image gives the photograph a smoother texture, however the contrast of jagged, misshapen lines also could give the image a rougher texture.
There is a range of tones from dark to light in the photograph. Although the image has a monochromatic theme, there is slight change in tone between black, white and grey. For example, the darkest area of the image is the thin, black lines created by the plants. The lightest area of the photograph is the reflections of the water in the background, which are highlighted by the sun.
There is very no colour in the image, however there is a range of tones from black to white, and a very subtle green hue to the image.
Although the composition is unorganised and organic, the composition seems balanced as the pattern of lines is consistent throughout the photograph.
Comparison between Nick Albertson and Harry Callahan’s work:
Nick Albertson and Harry Callahan both interpret abstraction and especially patterns of repetition in similar ways. For example, in these photographs, they both focus on the repetition of line through different methods. In addition, these images create a strong sense of contrast with light and dark.
On the other hand, Albertson’s work is heavily artificial and organised, as he specifically places his subject into a desired pattern or shape. He also uses artificial lighting in order to highlight the repetition in his images. Harry Callahan’s work juxtaposes this as he often photographs natural forms and patterns found in nature. Because of this, he also uses natural lighting which softens the image as a whole to give less defined shadows and highlights.
