This is a comparison between my work and Nan Goldins image, ‘Mika in her Mirror’. Both images feature bold red colour, however mine involves darker tones and more shadows defining the figures face and in the mirror, whereas Nan Goldin’s image has primarily lighter colours and is for the most part devoid of shadows. Both images depict a figure looking into a mirror, however my image features a round mirror which I felt added a nice touch to the photo, whereas the figure in Goldin’s photo is facing a square mirror. Both images have a personal feel to them as they represent the insider perspective – depicting single subject facing head-on to the mirror and avoiding eye contact with the camera. The red colours in Nan Goldin’s image represent intimacy, perhaps with ones self, which I have tried to replicate within my own work.

This is a comparison between mine and Vinca Petersen’s image, taken from Raves & Riots. Petersen’s image depicts a female figure running from a fire which is presumably from the aftermath of a riot. The raging flames in the background create a bold, vibrant orange tone that engulfs the whole image, and the running figures face and body are shaky, blurring her facial figures to the point of unrecognition. My image, like Petersen’s, features a single subject (myself) in the middle of the image, with facial features blurred out. I achieved this using the Tv mode on my camera, with low apeture in a dimly lit room to enhance the colours. Using these settings helped capture the subject in motion whilst everything in the background remains still – this helps shift the focus solely to the subject and creates a chaotic atmosphere much like in Petersen’s image.

This is another comparison between Nan Goldin’s work and my own. The image, titled ‘Valerie in the light, Bruno in the dark’ Depicts two figures stood in what appears to be a kitchen. The female figure is stood fully illuminated by light from the sun, making her the primary viewpoint as the sun reflects a bright yellow / orange tone around her that seeps onto the kitchen wall. Around her the light casts different shadows that range in depth. Stood behind her is the male figure who is engulfed in shadows yet darker orange tones still reflect onto his body. My own image is similar to this because it also uses natural lighting to enhance the colours and shadows in the image. In my photo, the figure to the left is fully illuminated by the sun which makes him the sole focus of the photo, much like Nan Goldin’s image. Behind him is another figure caught in conversation, yet he is covered by the shadows – behind the figure in the forefront, shadows reflect onto the wall that depict his silhouette, surrounded by the orange tones from the sun.

Although these two images are not visually similar, they generate the same relaxed and freeing atmosphere from capturing friends in conversation. Zielony’s image, taken from his series ‘Car Park’, depicts three friends in a car, neither of them making eye contact with the camera as different tones of red, green and yellow light reflect onto them, generated by artificial light from lamp posts, as the majority of Zielony’s work is captured during night time. On the other hand, my image was taken during the day with natural lighting, yet still depicts two friends having a conversation. Another difference between the two images is the perspective they’re taken from – This image, along with the majority of Zielony’s work, is taken from an outsider perspective looking in, whereas my image is taken from an insider as I had joined in on their conversation prior to taking the photo.

Overall, I feel the images I produced whilst making this project are amongst my best due to the range in colour & lighting that provided unique perspectives for each image – for example in my first photoshoot, all my final images were taken with the same coloured artificial lighting, however all had different outcomes – some darker, some more shaky and some with elements of yellow, pink and orange seeping into the corners of the image, which I really liked as it represents each of my artist references well yet still combines my own idea of photography. I am also really satisfied with the outcome of the second photoshoot – I think the use of natural lighting provides a good contrast from my other photoshoot and shows I have range and flexibility in my work – I also really like how the lighting rests on the figures in my images, whether it is fully covering them like the figure in the image above, or if it only illuminates a section of their face – either way this vibrant burst of golden lighting catches the viewers eye and overall makes the image more interesting to observe. If I could go back and redo this project, my only note would to be to take more photos in different locations with different colours other than red / orange / yellow. Although I did do this in my first photoshoot, my purple & blue images unfortunately did not have the outcome I wanted and were either too blurry or did not have enough areas of different tones whereas the images I did end up using were much more visually pleasing. I would also make more use of the natural lighting element and capture photos on bleaker days where there is less colour, as even though it doesn’t relate to my project idea as well, I still find the idea of bleaker lighting e.g sky on a cloudy day interesting as there is still beauty in the element of natural lighting. I felt in my project i also took note of my artist references well and my inspirations clearly reflected onto my work, for example my ‘shaky’ images from photoshoot 1 show Vinca Petersen’s chaotic style and how it has effected my work, and the red / orange colour scheme shows the inspiration Nan Goldin’s work has had mine, as the use of red in her work represents intimacy and strong emotion and I feel I replicated that to the best of my extent. I conclusion i feel although i could have produced more images with the time I was given, I am still very satisfied with the outcome of my project.

My second idea for a possible final presentation was to make a small zine to showcase my work using InDesign. However, i only chose a select few final images to work with and did not feel like adding more to lengthen the zine, so will probably choose to frame up my images instead and display them on a board. Nonetheless, I still wanted to experiment with a zine to show range within my work and generate possible future presentation ideas for other projects.

I chose this image as my front cover as it is one of two portrait images i took and I feel this one is the better of the two due to its bolder, more vibrant colours and figure placed in the middle to provide a primary viewpoint. I also made the background of all my pages black as I wanted to mute the background colour and have the focus solely on my images.

I made the next two pages landscape to better fit their format and placed the two darkest images from this shoot next to each other as their colours complimented each other well.

I didn’t want to mix my images from each photoshoot whilst producing the zine as I wanted to show the distinct difference between images taken with artificial vs. natural lighting. I placed these two next to each other as I think the first transitions nicely into the second as the lighting gradually grows lighter and more yellow-toned as the image progresses.

I chose to display these images together as I think they both have a unique perspective and the contrast between the figures in image 1 facing towards the camera vs. the figures in image 2 both turned away show a good contrast between the insider vs. outsider perspective I attempted to convey in my work.

Like the first slide, I chose to present my final image in portrait mode, using a photo from my first shoot to match my front cover. Although I like the final presentation of my zine, I still think I would rather present my images up on a board instead as I feel it is a cleaner presentation and makes each photo more defined and more interesting to look at.

Whilst experimenting with possible ideas for my final display i concluded with two options; either to frame up my images on a board using A5 images, or to create a small zine. I decided to make two boards to display my separate photoshoots to show the difference between artificial vs. natural lighting and want to display them in the grid format, but was unsure in what order so I experimented on photoshop possible outcomes for my final presentation.

PHOTOSHOOT #1

My design process for the first shoot was more difficult than the second considering I had more images to work with in a limited space. The default photoshop size didn’t fit all my images so i changed the format to 20×20 where I could arrange my images and be left with enough room. A black background definitely worked better with these images as it helped the tones in my darker images stand out and made them more visible.

PHOTOSHOOT #2

Although my initial idea for this shoot was to use 5 images, after experimenting with different grids and arrangements using the default photoshop size, I decided to settle on 4 images as I felt they looked more clean and easier to look at when displayed in a 2×2 grid, giving each image it’s own space to be viewed in. I also decided on a black background to contrast my photos and help the colours in them stand out more.

SELECTION (PHOTOSHOOT #1)

I began my selection process by separating my photoshoots into two separate collections on Lightroom, named according to photoshoot – therefore this would make the selection process easier and quicker to sort through since I have limited time. I then went through my images and labelled them with the colour rating – green for my strongest images, yellow for ones i was unsure about and red for photos I wouldn’t use, for examples ones that were blurry or boring. The use of artificial lighting (LED lamp) proved very successful for this photoshoot, therefore I feel none of my final images for shoot #1 needed editing as I am satisfied with their outcome.

For my project, I either wanted to display my photos framed up on a board or create a small zine. For this, I needed to shorten my selection process down to only 6 images, which left me with some difficult decisions, as this was a big photoshoot and the majority of my images I really liked – however, some of them were taken from the same angles with similar poses, so I made sure that my final six were all aesthetically different yet captured the same insider perspective I aimed to achieve. Unfortunately none of my purple / blue coloured images made the final cut, as they were either too blurry or didn’t quite catch my eye. I am satisfied with the final six photos I chose as I feel they are all very unique and although they do contain the same colour scheme, shutter speed and lighting help to enhance each image differently to make each one more aesthetically interesting to look at.

SELECTION (PHOTOSHOOT #2)

Unlike my first shoot, some of the images in my second photoshoot needed further editing, as I felt the colours and lighting didn’t stand out enough compared to my first photoshoot – however my first shoot used artificial lighting, which I could heighten and adjust as I wanted. The second shoot relied on natural lighting from the sun and was therefore out of my control, so i had to carefully decide the angles i took my images from to get the outcome I wanted. Repeating the method I used earlier, I sectioned my images from photoshoot #2 into a separate folder then sorted through them.

Unlike my other photoshoot, I chose to have only 5 final images instead of 6, as I want to display them a certain way once I frame my photos up. Once again my selection process was difficult, as there were a lot of photos I liked, but again wanted to make sure all of them were visually different. This photoshoot was the more difficult of the two, as although my other images appeared candid, the photoshoot was staged and carefully prepared. Whilst capturing images for this photoshoot I aimed to have all my images candid, however in the majority of them the subjects are looking at the camera or posing, and although the image may have turned out well, I felt they weren’t aesthetically fitting with the rest of my photos as i really relied on the candidacy of my images to convey the insider atmosphere.

EDITING

I decided to crop this image as I felt the objects on the sink were too much of a distraction and instead wanted the focus to be on the way the lighting reflected onto the figure and the window. Cropping this image will also help it fit nicely in my arrangement of images once I have them framed up.

I edited this image too as I felt it was lacking colour in comparison to my other images – therefore I turned up the vibrancy, temperature and tint in order to achieve the outcome I wanted. Although the editing is minimal I still felt it made a change to the image when displayed amongst the others. My other images for the most part however were left unedited, as I wanted to keep the authenticity of the natural lighting and not further enhance it too much.

VINCA PETERSEN

Vinca Petersen is a British photographer and artist, living on the Isle of Skye. Her work consists of documentary-style photography captured with a diaristic narrative as she travels across the world photographing different cultures – in particular the rave / party culture around Europe in the 90s, which was the product and main focus for her photobook ‘No System’ A ten year long documentation of her journey around Europe in 1990s, putting on illegal free raves and festivals with other Techno Travellers. This photobook became amongst her most known works due to its unique outlook on rave culture and shows an insider perspective through the eyes of Petersen and her friends who travelled around solely to experience raves and festivals in different areas. ‘No System’ Includes some of my favourite images taken by Petersen that inspired me to use her as an artist reference or my own project – She takes photos of ravegoers in their element with photos full of colour and vibrancy, and documents the journey of going to a festival – from the massive crowds to the riots and fires that occur, capturing photos of subjects dancing amongst raging flames which a slightly blurry lens to paint a chaos-filled landscape. However along with capturing the madness and danger of raves, Petersen also captures the quieter moments of travelling – some photos depict her friends in peaceful, relaxed states – whether swimming in a lake, lying on a beach or simply lounging around as they prepare to travel to their next destination. Along with creating photobooks and documenting her love for travelling and raves, Petersen has worked with many different youth groups and charities across the world, most of which she has discovered whilst travelling.

Along with ‘No System’, Petersen released a second photobook about travelling to illegal raves / festivals, titled ‘Raves and Riots 1999-2004’ Displayed as a solo exhibition after the success of ‘No System’ this photobook isn’t based on one particular journey and is a collection of random images taken at different locations around Europe, such as England, Czech Republic, Italy, etc. ‘Raves & Riots’ is simply a showcase of Petersen and her friends having fun, capturing moments of freedom in travelling and the adrenaline of dangerous situations such as riots, protests and run-ins with the police. Not only do the photographs form a vital record of a unique moment in recent history – on the cusp of a digital era, when there was arguably more freedom to stage gatherings in such a way – but, as Petersen says, they are just as relevant today. “As we were putting the show together we realised it’s completely reflective of right now – so many of the images could be from today,” she said in an interview to anothermag.com. Through this project, Petersen shares the freedom and the continued importance of raving and rioting.

Petersen is also friends with famous photographer Corinne Day, who is known for her raw and gritty documentary photography style or herself and her friends. In 1999, Day was paid to do a road trip in Texas and invited Petersen along with her – there she captured around 200 images of the four of them on their roadtrip and created a photobook titled Deuce and a Quarter. Petersen states her book is about women together, having an adventure. She says ‘We had no phones with us, we just felt very free, and untraceable. No one knew where we were. It’s about four women, on a road trip, doing fairly dangerous things at times, but mainly just mucking about. No one fell out, no one got hurt, there was no disaster, and they don’t die at the end like Thelma and Louise. They just have a really great time!’ The final product of the book is composed of images depicting Petersen and her friends doing everyday activities – the majority of images are taken in the car, but although these photos may be simple and not particularly eye-catching they still carry the atmosphere of freedom and fun that Petersen aimed to convey in her work, upholding her typical documentary-style narrative that runs through her projects. Although this project does not inspire me as much as No System does, i still like it as it is a unique depiction of an everyday activity such as driving and showcases the feeling of freedom through soft lighting featuring colours like pastel blues, purple and yellows to convey the relaxed atmosphere of the journey.

IMAGE ANALYSIS

This image taken from Raves & Riots is amongst my favourites by Petersen and is also the photo i feel is closest to the images i have produced due to its bold, vibrant colours and shaky slightly blurred camera. This photo taken during what appears to be a riot depicts a figure surrounded by flames and debris. The subject is running in the middle of the photo, the flames behind her display a bold orange lighting that illuminates the background of the photo and leaves darker red and brown tones to seep into the foreground of the image – this contrasts the figure from the flames and creates a primary viewpoint. Colour theory plays a major role in this image – the red colours symbolize anger, chaos, destruction. Paired with the raging flames and blurry figure this creates a hectic atmosphere which helps create a story behind the image.

I took images for my second photoshoot at a friends house in St. Brelades. The photoshoot was spontaneous and unplanned as I saw sun was setting and I noticed the colours in the lighting that reflected into the house and thought it would be perfect for my project as I want to show a variety of different types of lighting and how it affects a photo – As my last photoshoot relied on artificial lighting to create an atmosphere, this one focused on the natural lighting from the sun and how it was cast. Taking my images spontaneously added to the candid factor I made sure to stick to in my project. This was a smaller photoshoot, as I had limited time to capture images due to the sun setting, so I took around 50-60 photos.

BEST IMAGES

I feel this is the best image created from this photoshoot as it to me has the perfect combination of lighting, colour and shadow that creates multiple viewpoints that provides a fresh and unique perspective on the image. For example one viewer’s eye may be drawn to the warm orange tones reflected onto the faces of the models, however some may look at the silhouettes in the background and the yellow lighting that surrounds them.

Comparison to Vinca Petersen’s work

Much like the red & orange images in my first photoshoot I wanted to generate a response based off the warm colours in this photoshoot – orange & yellow tones typically create a feeling of energy, joy and is symbollic of optimism and connection. I wanted to emphasize on the feeling of connection in particular during this shoot but still keep my images candid – Since the sun was setting I had no control over where the rays would cast so I moved my friends towards an area that had the most vibrant lighting and captured them in conversation with each other. The use of two people in the majority of my photos alludes to my chosen theme of insider vs.outsider as i personally feel these photos establish a sense of connection with the viewer as the relaxed behaviour of the models combined with the warm tones and open space create a welcoming atmosphere. I feel this photoshoot is particularly reflective of Nan Goldin’s work and my influences in photography are clearly shown through the lighting especially in this photoshoot. However i felt this photoshoot didn’t reflect Zielonys influence on my work as these images were all taken with natural lighting, something which Zielony doesn’t often incorporate in his works. My images create a different atmosphere to his, as Zielonys work is taken from an outsider perspective whereas Nan Goldins images are captured in more relaxed environments which create the feeling of insider.

For my first photoshoot, I invited two friends and photographed one of them at different locations around my house using a portable LED light to provide colourful lighting that would enhance my image. Locations shot in my house included my bathroom, bedroom and a field opposite. Shot on TV mode without tripod or flash, the result was vibrant slightly grainy images that matched the aesthetic i was aiming for well. The downside of shooting on TV mode was the majority of my images turned out shaky or unfocused, but the upside was it enhanced the LED light well and gave an outcome i wouldn’t be able to achieve on any other shooting mode. I plan to leave the majority of these photos unedited although may potentially increase the vibrancy in some to make the lighting stand out more, or increase the exposure as since all my images were taken with the LED as the sole source of lighting, some of them turned out too dark. However for the most part I am satisfied with the outcome of my images.

BEST IMAGES

Comparison to Vinca Petersen’s work

Out of all the photos in my shoot, the red ones stood out most to me as I feel they had the best outcome and communicated my artist references well. I used the red light to give my photos a more intimate atmosphere, especially due to shooting in my bedroom i wanted my photos to have the insider perspective to provide complexity, and through using the red LED i felt this better enhanced them – the underlying tones of orange, yellow and pink also compliment my images well and add a nice touch, and the grainy effect captured on some of my images provide a raw unfiltered perspective and reflect on the documentary / diaristic style I aim to portray in my photos.

My purple / blue images showcase a completely different atmosphere to my red ones as they depict a calmer more peaceful atmosphere through the cool tones. These two images, both taken from the same position and angle, are example of how lighting can drastically change the setup of a photo. In the first one, the LED is the sole source of lighting which results in more shadows and darker tones around the model and borders of the photo – however in the second one, the use of a lighter provided a surprising amount of lighting change in my image – the flame illuminates the model and creates underlying tones of red and pink, and lessens the shadows around the image which results in the photo being more vibrant and colourful – this is why i prefer it out of the two.

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.

I intend to base my project primarily around image-enhancing elements such as lighting and setting rather than subject, contrasting from my previous project. I am aiming to focus my project on portraying simplicity and complexity from the insider vs. outsider viewpoint and intend to do so by creating images heavily influenced by rich, vibrant lighting to convey emotion, relying on the colour theory; for example blue to reflect sadness or isolation, red to represent intimacy, chaos or energy. In my work i still want to photograph youth culture but instead of my last project, i aim to take away the focus on teenage lifestyle and instead project it onto elements that make up a photograph. To guarantee my images will be eye-catching, I am deciding between either framing my images up on a board in a grid or producing a small zine.

Ideas for photoshoot setting is limited, as due to living on an Island with not much nightlife my choice of places to photograph are few – however i am now 18 so plan on bringing my camera to bars and clubs as i am heavily inspired by the photographic style of club and party culture in the 90s-00s. Since places are limited i am relying on objects and texture to help enhance my images – for example, my artist reference Nan Goldin often used textures such as tiles or fabrics to create a more interesting image. Therefore i will be photographing in rooms like bathrooms as they usually have tiled wall patterns which i feel could appeal to the aesthetic i am aiming to deliver in my work. Other objects i will use to enhance my photos are LED lights which can change the lighting colour and make the image more vibrant – for example my artist reference Tobias Zielony uses artificial coloured lighting (car headlights, streetlamps) whilst photographing in a plain setting to make his image more interesting. Inspired by this, i plan to use the LED light whilst capturing images in ‘plainer’ settings to enhance the image and provide an atmosphere that relates to my insider vs. outsider narrative.