Contact sheet

The photographs have been taken in 4 separate shoots

These photographs are the ones I considered usable based on sharpness and exposure.

I 5 starred my favourite photographs after comparing angle, shadows and sharpness more in depth.

Experimentation

I increased the contrast, saturation and vibrance as well as the shadows and blacks as I wanted to make the photograph look extreme and surreal. I decreased the highlights and the whites as i though it was a bit too much for the eyes considering the amount of colour. I decreased the texture and clarity in order to make the photograph feel more soft and liquid.

I converted the photograph to black and white as I felt colour to be unnecessary for communicating the message but rather a distraction. I used a radial filter in order to preserve the sharpness of the central image as I distort the surroundings by increasing texture and using dehaze. I wanted the photograph to look dark and gritty, a bit hard on the eyes, a total opposite of the pervious photograph as I created them to be displayed together.

For both photographs I used a glass to create the ring around the main object. I wanted to create a distortion, a ripple in reality to represent the polar extremes of delusion.

Final outcomes

I decided to include the essay in the final book as I though it would help me convey the point as well give some background and context to the photographs. The front cover was supposed to be inviting, a declaration of transparency as eyes are the window to the soul. The photographs on pages 12 and 13 portray the idea of the anima and the animus, or the femininity and masculinity, within the shadow. Page 16 touches on the theory of the tabula rasa, we are born without the filter we call the ego, however, on page 17 we can see the transition into the persona, formed by the preconceived notions, the filter of what is acceptable or desirable by its standards. The prism on page 23 is explained by the quote, it represent the idea that the fragmentation of the psyche happens due to the egos filters. The strands of DNA are meant to represent the collective subconscious and the universal elements originated in the inherited structure of the brain, all the parts of you encoded in you DNA, passed on for generation. The last photograph I thought would be a good closing as everything that begins must also end.

I feel that the photobook was able to convey the message successfully in combination with the essay. However, a lot of the meaning derives from the way the viewer interprets the photos for themselves. The message could potentially be delivered better if the photographs contained titles to narrow down the field for interpretation. On the other hand, the purpose of the photobook was to explore the subconscious and photographs open to interpretation offer the viewer the opportunity to take a dive into their own subconscious. It is similar to the work of the reference artist Roger Ballen, who inspired this project, in the way it explores the darker parts of the subconscious such as hallucination and delusion and the psychological shadow. The main difference between mine and Ballens work is that I portray the positive side of duality through colour as well as symbolism. Another difference is that I used editing tools quite heavily in order to portray the concepts in an abstract form. Evaluating the technical side of the project, I feel that I could have played more with lighting in order to communicate the nature of duality. Some photographs could have also been taken with more pressure on the technical aspects most specifically shutter speed and aperture as well as focus. Some pictures came out not focused enough or a bit blurred due to low shutter speed and movement while shooting handheld. Exposure could have also been improved by adjusting the shutter speed and the ISO depending on the conditions. For the future I will definitely use a camera stand as offers stability and gives me the opportunity to properly adjust my camera settings to a certain environment. Overall I am happy with my outcome, a few adjustments could have been made to improve the quality of my work however I feel the imperfections in the project help serve the overall purpose in that it relates to our own flaws.

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