John Baldessari

John Baldessari is known as the father of conceptual art for his unique ideas and his dependency on the concept of luck. His works compiled elements of game-playing, accidents and chance, and he used different camera settings to enrich them. One of these settings that he used was different shutter speeds, which we experimented with in this photoshoot.

Shutter speed

Shutter speed within a camera controls exposure, or the amount of time the shutter has to let in light while capturing the image. It is measured in either full seconds, or fractions of a second, the shorter the exposure, the clearer and less motion-blurred the photograph will be. Longer exposures are typically used when the camera is supported by a tripod, as the camera usually shakes quite a bit when held in a photographer’s hand.

Photogames – Shutter speed (Shadowboxing)

We used different shutter speeds (1/30, 1/150, 1/250) to capture movement. First we took images of different movements by shadowboxing with the cameraman – here’s some of the better results.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The rest of the images that we took here were either blurred, out of focus, overexposed, or just didn’t work out in some form.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Photogames – Shutter speed (Balls)

We then threw three balls into the air and tried to capture images of them in different shapes in mid-air, the best photographs resulting in the shape of a (nearly) straight line and a triangle.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The rest of the photos that we took didn’t turn out so well, even after we started taking turns photographing and throwing the balls in the air.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The word aperture comes from the Latin for ‘opening’. This relates to the function of aperture – aperture is the degree to which the curtain inside the camera opens to allow light into the image. Aperture is measured with f-stops; ranging from as low as f/0.7 (used by NASA to film the moon – though of course most common cameras will use about f/2 at their lowest) to as high as f/45 (used to provide the maximum depth of field possible for a macro lens. Again, common cameras will use about f/16 or f/32 at their highest).

However, using the words low and high when discussing aperture may lead to confusion, due to the system that aperture uses. The ‘low’ aperture numbers signify the larger opening in the camera’s curtain – letting more light into the image, but the ‘high’ aperture numbers signify a smaller opening in the camera’s curtain – letting less light into the image.

Aperture does not just refer to light however – it also relates to the depth of field one can capture in an image. This is shown in the diagram below.

Here are some examples of images taken with wide apertures.

Here are some examples of images taken with narrow apertures.

As you can see, in the first set of images, only the closest/chosen elements of the composition are in focus, but in the second set, the entire image is in focus.

Shutter speed is the speed at which the shutter of the camera closes. A fast shutter speed creates a shorter exposure — the amount of light the camera takes in — and a slow shutter speed gives the photographer a longer exposure. The faster the shutter speed, the sharper the image will be. Therefore, the slower the shutter speed, the more blurred the image is.

What do you use shutter speed for?

Shutter speed works in units of time, fractions of a second or several seconds. A higher/faster shutter speed allows less light to hit the camera sensor or film strip. Conversely, a lower/slower shutter speed allows more light to pass into your camera

PHOTO GAME.

We tested the use of shutter speed by moving at different speeds at the camera.

JOHN BALDESSARI

John Anthony Baldessari was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images.

3 BALLS IN A LINE.

In 1973, Baldessari came up with the idea to throw three balls in the air at the same time to attempt to get a photo of them in a straight line. whist he was throwing the three balls, his wife was capturing the image. he attempted this shoot thirty six times.

• 

We went outside to box the camera and throw balls up in the sky while adjusting the shutter speed.

Throwing:

• 

• 

• 

• 

Boxing:

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Q1: What is the etymology (origin & history) of the word photography?

Writing with light.

Q2: What year was the first photograph made in camera?

1826 (Joseph Nicéphore Niépce)

Q3: When did the first photograph of a human appear?

1838 (Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre)

Q:4 When made the first ‘selfie’

Robert cornelius (1839)

Q5: When did the first colour photograph appear?

1861 (James Clerk Maxwell)

Q6: What do we mean by the word genre?

A style or category of art

Q7: What do we mean by the genre of still-life?

An image that shows inanimate objects from the natural or man-made world.

Q8: What was the main purpose of the Pictorialist movement?

To affirm photography as an art form

Q9: How do we describe the term documentary photography?

An interpretation of reality as witnessed by the photographer.

Q10: What is exposure in photography?

The amount of light that reaches your camera’s sensor.

Q11: What controls exposure on your camera?

Aperture, shutter speed, ISO.

Q12: What control on our camera records moving objects?

Shutter

Q13: How do we explain depth of field?

How much of your image is in focus.

Q14: What factors affect Depth of Field?

Lens aperture, distance from camera to subject, and lens focal length.

Q15: What is composition in photography?

The arrangement of visual elements within the frame.

Q16: What is your understanding of aesthetics in art?

It is subjective and in the eye of the beholder.

Q17: What are contextual studies in photography?

To provide historial, cultural and theoterical understanding of images.

Q18: How many images are captured on average every day worldwide?

4.7 billion

Q19: Which portrait is the most reproduced in the world?

The Queen (Elizabeth II)

The main purpose of photography is to communicate and document moments in time. When a photograph is taken and shared with others, you’re sharing a moment in time that cannot be relived again. However photos give people the closest thing to being able to relive these moments which is why they can have such an emotional impact on people.

‘photographs confuse as much as fascinate, conceal as much as reveal, distract as much as compel. They are unpredictable communicators.’ – David Campany

This statement depicts the way in which every photograph effects everyone differently, we all interpret and view things in different ways. This can be dependent on emotions, upbringing and factors such as gender, ethnicity and race. He states opposites to show how drastically different each interpretation can be and how there is no right or wrong way of seeing an images meaning.

The first line of the quotation reads ‘photographs confuse as much as fascinate‘ referring to the viewers lack of information regarding the images, the photographer can do this intentionally to enable the images to be interpreted differently by each person and allows the picture to gain many different meanings. By being able to interpret images in your own way it can add a personal touch allowing the viewer to become more emotionally connected with the images. However, the context behind an image is also very important as it enlightens the viewer of the photographers intended meaning highlighting key details in the images.

David Campany also stated that photographs ‘conceal as much as reveal’ which also refers to an individuals interpretations of an image. Even when context and background information is included, images can leave lots of unanswered questions allowing the images to be seen as ambiguous and adding a sense of mystery to the photographs.

I found this image which to me represented David Campany’s quotation. The shadowing through fabric makes the viewer ask questions such as; ‘what is she looking at?’, ‘What is creating the shadow?’, ‘what emotions are she feeling?’. These questions again add to the idea of images being interpretive to the viewer allowing photographs to have an emotional impact to almost everyone as everyone has their own views of the meanings behind photographs.

Finally, the last line reads ‘they are unpredictable communicators’ further demonstrating the way in which the photographer can create unexpected images that, although don’t directly show something, also reveal so much. Overall I think David Campbell was trying to explain the beauty in the complexity of photography and all of its unknowns.

Le saut dans le vide

This image collaborates with David Campany’s quotation as it leaves the viewer with a lot of unanswered questioned, such as; why is the man falling? Why is the cyclist not reacting? what happened after the image was taken?