Photoshoot 1

Idea- Sherman/ capture anatomy/ movement

where- house, inside, bedroom

props- sheet for backdrop, artificial light e.g. bright lamp.

focus point- capturing shadows and lines.

Inspo

As I plan to use AI software to help create some of my final outcomes, I researched the software I could consider using. Most AI software are locked behind a subscription fee, or have limited uses without subscribing to them, meaning I will research open-source/free-to-use software I can use to get a better understanding of how the prompting to create the images works.

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Dream by WOMBO

The first piece of software I used for experimentation was Dream. This software allowed me to input my own image to influence the image that the software generated, which adheres to what I am trying to achieve. The images created using this software is usually not the most detailed or accurate, which could provide a unique effect for my outcomes. These are images I have created using this software:

I used this image as reference for the images.

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Craiyon

Craiyon is another free-to-use software which works similarly to Dream; you enter a prompt and the images are generated. This software (formerly known as Dall-e Mini) was popular as it was an online software that could be used on a browser, as well as the fact that the images it created were characteristically humorously distorted. These are images I have created using this software:

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DALL-E 2 by OpenAI

DALL-E 2 is one of the more popular AI image generator software around as of now. DALL-E 2 provides users with free credits, allowing them to create a certain amount of images per month (with no fee), I will use these to experiment with prompting and perhaps create some final images in the meantime. These are images I have created using this software:

(I was unable to access this software due to its servers being blocked)

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DreamstudioAI

Dreamstudio AI is a web-based software that allows you to enter a prompt, an image for reference as well as the general style you would want in an image. The software uses a credits system similar to Dall-E 2. Below are some of the images I have created using this software:

These images used one of my images as a reference:

For my second shoot I went to the Maritime Museum which hosts an array of exhibits documenting Jersey’s history with the sea.

Like with my first shoot, I increased the saturation whilst editing and also used colour grading. While taking these images I also manually adjusted my shutter speed when taking pictures of the moving exhibits, giving them their blurred effect.

First Photoshoots

My plan for my photoshoots is to walk around different areas of St. Helier photographing the architecture using different angles and lighting to capture some interesting shots of buildings, as well as this I would like to photograph during different times of the day to create different results of images. Using google maps, I have screenshotted areas of interest within Jersey to photograph for my project. I am aiming to produce 3-4 photoshoots of the architecture around St. Helier.

Additional Photoshoots

For my additional photoshoots, If I wish to take more photographs, I will focus on out of town architecture, such as places like Gorey and Red Houses, I will do this to create a variety within my images.

Whilst at the Jersey zoo I took an a lot of images, mostly focusing on plants and flowers being grown around the site, but also some of the animals enclosures. I wanted the focus on the natural shapes and colours found within the plants, and used Adobe Lightroom to edit my images, mostly increasing the saturation to make the images a little more visually pleasing.

To begin, I only made a few small adjustments, increasing the exposure and contrast and eventually got into the more advanced editing settings, increasing the amount of blue in the shadows using the Colour Grading wheels. By increasing the blue I feel that I made the water a bit more pleasant to look at, as in the original image it appears to be quite murky.

By comparing my images with Kawauchi’s I can see how successful I am in emulating the style of one of my artist references. Kawauchi’s image is from her photobook Illuminance, and depicts water droplets on a spider’s web, with plants surrounding it. These plants have red stems, which contrasts the green of the leaves and she uses a shallow depth of field to draw attention to the webs and the droplets. Kawauchi’s images are taken on film cameras and are square, contrasting my image which was taken on a digital camera and cropped to be portrait. My image has more of a focus on the texture of the leaves over colour but does also use a shallow depth of field. The image was taken through glass which leaves some of the reflection in the final image, which I feel adds an extra amount of visual interest.

• What you want to explore?
• Why it matters to you?
• How you wish to develop your project?
• When and where you intend to begin your study?

My aim off this exam project is to focus on the simple and complex features of architecture around many areas of Jersey. So far, I have researched 2 different artists, Matthieu Venot and Hélène Binet, who I believe both fit well with my topic as they both present their images in both simple and complex. This project matters to me because Jersey is where I grew up mainly surrounded by interesting structures which are rapidly evolving over time. I am aiming to carry out around 4-6 photo shoots of different districts around the island to make sure I have more than enough images in preparation for my final exam. At the moment, I have successfully carried out 2 photoshoots from Fort Regent and the Waterfront, gathering around 100 images so far. I am going to experiment photographing these structures in different weather conditions and different times from early day to night time. I want to carry out photoshoots all around St Helier from Westmount Apartments to the Jersey brewery to ensure I gain enough images for the final exam. Also, I am going to manipulate these images through the use of Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom to make sure I can present my images in the best of form.

I decided to plan out a series of photoshoots to carry out while outside of school. These shoots were inspired by my artist references and were taken in a variety of locations, giving me a range of images to work with for my project.

For my first shoot I decided to visit the local zoo, which has an array of interesting plants and flowers, alongside various rooms with steam and glass which I could use to create unique images inspired by my artist references.

I also decided to do another shoot at the Maritime museum as well, which has a variety of exhibits with interesting imagery, including interactive displays, themed around the island’s nautical history.

For my final exam, I will be creating images inspired by Cindy Sherman as well as Alicia Brodowicz. Both photographers base their work on the human body, Brodowicz captures the human body in relation to nature, capturing the similarity’s of textures, shapes and lines. Sherman focusses on the sexualisation of women in the media based of Hollywood Film and female stereotypes created by the white heterosexual male. My idea, is to capture images of women from a male and a female perspective, highlighting Laura Mulvey’s theory of ‘the male gaze’. I will be taking images similar to Sherman’s ‘untitled film stills’. Within my images, i want to keep the ‘old fashioned look’

TOBIAS ZIELONY

Tobias Zielony (born 1973) is a German photographer and filmmaker who bases his work in Berlin. His projects focus on marginalized communities and subcultures in young people in lesser known places, uncovering the activities teenagers get up in their spare time. Whilst studying documentary photography at the University of Wales, Newport, he became drawn to ‘anti-social’ youth culture in Britain, in particular the lives of those living on council estates, and produced his first few projects, including ‘Car Park’ (2000), a set of images taken in shady Bristol carparks that captured British youth in desolate, urban areas, and ‘Curfew’ (2001) a project exploring the lives of young Liverpudlians, showcasing the destructive boredom stemming from a youth spent in one of England’s poorest urban areas. Throughout both projects we are confronted with the effects of poverty that reflects on the teenagers hedonistic behaviours, yet captured in a way that seems almost liberating.

Zielony’s first two projects explore the same themes but are captured in two different ways – The images in Curfew are taken primarily during bleak, bright days, in open endless spaces such as fields and parks, with a dull colour scheme and often of idle, isolated subjects, whereas the images in Car Park are captured during the night, often of big groups in small areas using bold, colourful lighting to enhance the images appearance. These images share the similarity of being staged documentary and involve Zielonys subjects looking away from the camera, creating the atmosphere of a candid image. Taken without flash or tripod, the pictures are inspired by the aesthetics of music videos – and therefore by youth culture.. Zielony says he gains his subjects’ trust by not judging or moralising, by taking time and by not trying to ‘save’ anyone, keeping his subjects identities anonymous, which creates images shrouded in mystery.

Zielony continued with the theme of youth culture with his 2004 project ‘Behind the Block’ where he extended his research to four European cities to observe adolescents in public spaces often during night times, again photographing their social environment but also combining architecture into his project to provide backstory and further explore the areas these teenagers hung around in. The use of architecture in this project creates bold, defining images with elements of simplicity through the geometric shape of the buildings – this has inspired me for my simple vs. complex project as i feel it’s a unique touch to the work, and Zielony helps these images compliment each other by using similar lighting and colour to create an aesthetic in his work.

Continuing on in his career of documenting different social environments, he embarked on 3 year project titled ‘Manitoba.’ From 2009-2011, he travelled around Winnipeg, capturing the life of adolescent indigenous gang members in the capital of Manitoba province in Canada. In keeping with the tradition of classic photo journalism, Zielony makes use of various genres of photography; including portraits of gang members posing in front of the camera and views of the urban landscape in and outside Winnipeg. Unlike his past projects, these images are a complete change of culture which results in a set of fresh images that provide a unique perspective on life in Winnipeg.

Later on in his career, Zielony began to experiment more with different lighting and themes in his work – this reflects in his 2013 photobook ‘Jenny, Jenny’ where he photographed sex workers in Berlin. The photo series started with a chance encounter. A conversation with a young couple on a Berlin subway train led Zielony to suggest to photograph them – after discovering the couple were sex workers, Zielony was introduced to their co-workers and began following them around Berlin. The result is the 40 part documentary series “Jenny Jenny”. Zielony combines staged shots with dramatic, vivid colours and abstract architectural images to create an eye catching unique outlook of the lives of sex workers in Berlin. Of all his works i find ‘Jenny Jenny’ to be the most eye catching because of it’s colour scheme and use of vibrant lighting to enhance the image.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

Although this photo is not what i consider to be an aesthetic of photography i’m interested in, i chose to analyze it as i feel its one of Zielonys most eye-catching works. Simply titled ‘Laser’ this image depicts a single subject, stood in what appears to be a field at night. His surroundings are blurry and only dimly lit by the sky, and the subject is stood in the middle with his eyes shut. Bright green laser lights cover his face and body, highlighting his silhouette and making him the sole focus of the image, with a few orbs of light shining into the background of the photo. The stripes on his shirt contrast with the dots of the green and make for a unique photograph. The bold lighting stands out from the dark background and further illuminate the subject. The photo doesn’t appear to be taken with a tripod nor flash, but from a head-on perspective, positioned in front of the subject.

Mood board on Jaroslav Rossler’s work –

Above is a mood board which I created of images that Jaroslav Rossler produced throughout his career. I think that these images are a good representation of the abstraction of still life in different reflections/shadows of glasses/different kitchen objects. I really like how Rossler explores the darkness in is photography through different lighting and shadows as well as the colour and composition in different photos where he uses a variety of different objects which are different colours, but compliment each other well to create a vivid contrast within their colour. This makes me feel inspired within my own work because I was going to focus on the abstraction of different shadows through glassware within my work, but through exploring Russler’s work I have decided that I will also explore using different objects besides glasses to represent different kitchenware as it can create a deeper message.

Research on Jaroslav Rossler –

• Studied from 1917-20 under the photographer Frantisek Drtikol where he was a lab technician.
• By the age of 21, he began an art project with Karel Teige where he was able to create typographical layouts for magazines, this was where he was able to broaden his understanding on different photographical methods, e.g. photogram, photomontage, collage, carbon print process which was used to produce his still life’s etc.
• He experienced with isms such as Pictorialism, Cubism and Futurism, but also experimented with abstraction and Avant Garde.
• In 1925, he began working as a photographer in Prague/Paris with the magazine called ‘Pestry tyden’.
• In the 1950’s he created ‘prizmata’ (prisms) which were photos that are taken through a birefringent prism, as well as experimenting with solarisation and the Sabatier effect.

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3 Key quotes –

To gather further information on Rossler’s still life photography, I used this website for reference as well as this website. The first website provided me with an extra insight into the photographic techniques that Rossler used within his work to create his photographs within the field of advertising, and the second website was providing me with a different view towards Rossler’s work and this was from Allan Graubard, these opinions are what I will use further in my image analysis as well.

1.

“In the early 1920s he created several works which show minimal objects and forms that relish in abstraction like images”

This quote is used to discuss the early stages of Rossler’s career where he experimented a lot with different compositions of still life photography. This quote also discusses the abstract form that Rossler’s takes with his work, I really like this experimentation that I found when researching more in to his works through my mood boards.

2.

“He photographed simple objects against a backdrop of black and white cardboard paper; he gave spherical form to light through long exposures.”

This quote discusses the photographic process in which Rossler takes within his work to create the photographs that he has produced. This quote represents how it is a simple process with simple objects that he manipulates in to these complex forms through the use of long exposures. This can be seen in images where the light changes colour throughout the photos as Rossler has manipulated the colours. I really like this effect and will consider this within my photoshoots, remembering how simple and effective some objects can be due to the manipulation of camera settings.

3.

“he also used photo-grams, diagonal compositions, multiple negatives and lettering to create modern advertising.”

This quote discusses the different photographic techniques which Jaroslav Rossler uses within his work to create the images in which he does which relate towards modern advertising, which is a large area of photography he has worked within.

Image analysis –

 

I think that this image taken by Jaroslav Rossler called ‘Caron Acaiosa perfume bottle’ produced in 1929, is successful to an extent and this is because I like how there has been experimentation within the shadows that are found in the background of the image. This is because they are unusual in their shape as it has a bend within it as the lines meet one another. The shadow is also used within the photograph to highlight the bottle next to it as the shadow looks as if it is surrounding it, this can be used within modern advertising photography to highlight a certain product to the audience. Another element of this photograph take by Rossler which I like is the use of the reflections beneath the bottles, this is because they look as if they are connected to themselves below which can represent solidarity amongst women, as perfume can mainly be seen as a feminine product. If I were to give a critic of this photograph, I would say that I would look on improving the intensity of the shadows and how dark and bold they are, this is because the shadow gets lost within the background of the photo and I believe that the shadow could be more effective if the focus of the boldness of the shadow was more focussed on. This could also be focussed on within the perfume bottles as they could be used to create different shapes and the use of the liquid inside of the smaller perfume bottle on the right could be used to reflect on to the background that is being used as it can create unusual patterns. Within my own work, I will consider using different objects such as perfume bottles and the use of different shadows as well as focussing on the liquid inside of them and how it can be used to create different patterns.