Sean Tucker is a renowned street photographer based in London, UK. With a background in music and a career in professional photography spanning over a decade, Sean has established himself as a leading voice in the world of street photography. His distinctive style, characterized by poignant storytelling and intimate portrayals of urban life, has garnered widespread acclaim and a dedicated following on social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube.

Early in his career, Sean faced several challenges common to aspiring street photographers. He grappled with feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty about his creative vision, struggled to find his unique voice amidst a sea of photographic styles, and encountered logistical hurdles while navigating the dynamic and often unpredictable environment of the streets. Additionally, Sean faced the challenge of balancing his passion for photography with the demands of earning a livelihood, leading him to explore various avenues for monetizing his craft.

In my own work, I seek to emulate Sean’s mastery of deep shadows as a means of imbuing my photographs with depth, mood, and emotional resonance. I am fascinated by the transformative power of shadows to obscure, reveal, and evoke a sense of mystery, inviting viewers to engage with the narrative unfolding within the frame. By harnessing the dramatic contrasts and textures created by deep shadows, I aim to evoke a sense of atmosphere and intrigue that transports viewers into the heart of the urban landscape.

Sean adopted a multifaceted approach to address these challenges and propel his growth as a street photographer. He embraced a mindset of continuous learning and experimentation, immersing himself in the work of master photographers, attending workshops and seminars, and seeking feedback from peers and mentors. Sean also honed his technical skills through diligent practice and exploration, mastering the nuances of composition, lighting, and storytelling to create compelling visual narratives.

Crucially, Sean leveraged digital platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to showcase his work, share insights into his creative process, and connect with a global audience of fellow photographers and enthusiasts. Through engaging storytelling and authentic, behind-the-scenes content, Sean cultivated a strong personal brand and established himself as a trusted authority in the field of street photography.

In my own work, I seek to emulate Sean’s mastery of deep shadows as a means of imbuing my photographs with depth, mood, and emotional resonance. I am fascinated by the transformative power of shadows to obscure, reveal, and evoke a sense of mystery, inviting viewers to engage with the narrative unfolding within the frame. By harnessing the dramatic contrasts and textures created by deep shadows, I aim to evoke a sense of atmosphere and intrigue that transports viewers into the heart of the urban landscape.

i aim to capture the captivating interplay between light and shadow within the suburban and urban landscape. my focus lies not only on the architectural beauty of buildings but also on the dynamic shadows they cast, creating a visual narrative that explores the multifaceted nature of our built environment. By leveraging the inherent contrast and drama of shadows, we seek to unveil hidden textures, patterns, and perspectives that often go unnoticed in everyday cityscapes. Through careful composition and selective framing, i intend to evoke a sense of mystery, intrigue, and contemplation, inviting viewers to reimagine familiar urban scenes in a new light. With an eye for detail and a reverence for the subtle nuances of light and shadow, i endeavor to craft a series of images that celebrate the beauty of the urban and natural landscape and its ever-shifting play of shadows.

PHOTOSHOOT ONE

What – Documentary style photoshoot of a series of surfers/waves in motion

Why – To observe the practice of surfing in relation to The Decisive Moment

How – In Water Photography Equipment – Waterproof Camera Housing/Lens Port, Cold water Wetsuit Gear, Flippers

When – Late afternoon, Soft Lighting, Colours, Shadows

Where – Watersplash, St Ouens Bay

Photo shoot 1 – Playing pieces

Firstly, for this photo shoot I plan to take photographs of the board and pieces by themselves, my main idea for it is to simply showcase the games alone while focusing on the lighting and layout.

I would most likely produce this shoot at home using a makeshift studio as to not move all the games around that will be included in the photographs.

Photo shoot 2 – Castle photographs

Secondly, I plan to go to one of the castle’s on Jersey, either Elizabeth or Gorey, and take photos of the playing pieces in the medieval surroundings.

This photo shoot is inspired by my artist reference, Jan Roald, as his project of ‘is the life also a chess play’ did a great job of capturing the viewers attention due to the links between the scenery and the chess pieces.

Photo shoot 3 – Costume photos

For my costume photographs, I plan to have my friend wear a red dress to portray the queen from both chess and cards since red often means power and was even adopted by kings around the middle ages to show their god-given right to rule.

I will most likely be taking my images in my garden due to the grass creating a more natural feel for the images. This shoot will also be inspired by Claude Cahun regarding the expressions and body language that she depicts in her own self portraits.

Photo shoot 4 – Portraits

For these photographs, my main plan is to try and showcase body language while playing a game. To do this, i’m going to have my friend sit down at a game and take photos of her playing the game in order to capture her reactions and expressions.

This shoot would once again be done at my house in order to make my friend more comfortable and give more natural responses. The shoot is also heavily inspired by the chess photographer, David Llada, who aims to capture peoples expressions as they play chess during tournaments.

Photo shoot 5 – Masks

In this photo shoot my aim is to display how we hide our emotions and expressions during games, or in other words how we showcase our poker face. To do this I will have a friend of mine wear a blank mask and have a game set out in front of them or have them simply looking into the camera.

The shoot will be inspired by my artist reference Gillian Wearing who uses prosthetic masks to showcase different meanings within her photographs.

Photo shoot 6 – Elemental photographs

Lastly, I intend to produce some photographs of the playing pieces in different elements, such as fire, earth, water etc. These images would symbolize different parts of game from emotions to different strategies, for example the fire could represent passion while water could represent loss or sadness.

Mood board

About

Gillian Wearing was born in 1963 in Birmingham, England. In Wearing’s photographs and videos she records the confessions and interactions of ordinary people she befriends through chance encounters. Her work explores the differences between many things such as; public and private life, the individual and society, voyeurism and exhibitionism, and fiction and fact.

The work that I plan on focusing on is her masked photographs. In these images, she uses prosthetic masks to alter her appearance, showing how we hide away our identity.

Why I chose the artist

I chose this Wearing as an artist since I plan to display how we hide our emotions during games, showcasing what is commonly known as a ‘poker face’ which is an inscrutable face that reveals no hint of a person’s thoughts or feelings.

In order to achieve this i would masks, while they may not be as detailed or high quality as Wearings due to cost efficiency, they would symbolize how we hide our emotions and allow the viewer to take a more tactical look towards the games we play.

Image analysis

In this image we are able to see the prosthetic mask protruding from the mirror frame, creating a rather unique effect. The fact that we are still able to see her human eyes behind the mask could mean that we often hide our true selves behind false faces, only presenting the parts of ourselves that we deem worthy or perfect to the world in the same way a prosthetic is perfect.

I would definitely like to incorporate the use of mirrors into my own photographs since the idea of refection is a key part in Wearings photographs. I especially like how she incorporated only the mirror frame in this image though, making it gold and shiny in order to draw attention to it and link it with her eyes which are the only other glossy part.

Links

https://www.artnet.com/artists/gillian-wearing/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_Wearing

EDITING

Unedited best shots

Edits I have made:

The next 4 I want to keep as a collection so I edited them to be very similar. Unedited:

And then finally, I wanted all of the photographs to be similar colour so I added this pre-set to them all:

FINAL EDITED PHOTOS

Where: York city centre

When: 23rd of March, early morning

What/who: The city and the people in it

How: DSLR, auto focus to ensure all images are in focus.

Where: Edinburgh city centre

When: 23rd of March, early afternoon

What/who: The city and the people in it

How: DSLR, auto focus to ensure all images are in focus.

Alec Soth

Alec Soth is a photographer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota whose style of photography includes documentary photography. Soth likes to make “large scale American projects” where his images are ‘off-beat’, obvious and boring images of modern America. Within his images he likes the subject to be a “loner or dreamer” which is why the subject is often seen alone in typically a rural American landscape.

Alec Soths work is inspired by Diane Arbus and has had his work compared to Walker Evens and Stephen Shore. When taking his images Soth has admitted that he “feels very nervous at times” but he finds that his awkwardness comfort people. It can be argued that Soths project ‘Sleeping by the Mississippi’ is his most well know project as Soth worldwide artist recognition in 2004 after publishing this project. He wanted this book to portray the feelings of neglect and isolation by presenting rural, remote landscape and interior images along with portraits. The images that appear in the book were taken on his road trip along the Mississippi.

Sometimes imperfections make something even better – which is one of the reasons why I still enjoy shooting on film.– Alec Soth

Personally I think the work of Alec Soth is unique as his images and draw viewers in. There is a sense of power within his images and the lone subjects is surrounded by a vast rural American Landscape, leaving the viewers to interpret their own idea and story for the subject such as their background. When looking at Soths landscape and interior images there is a sense of awe as the setting appears quiet purely because of how abandoned and derelict the place are. The images Alec Soth takes are raw and detailed.

Image Analysis

This is a digital portrait taken of Charles Vasa by Alec Soth. The mise-en-scene presents Charles in his coveralls standing on a roof holding two model planes, one in each hand, presenting them to the viewer. Charles is stood against a rural winter background in Minnesota, which is out of focus. This tells us that that image has been taken with a narrow depth of field and a large aperture because the subject is in focus and the background isn’t. The photo has been taken from a straight on angle with the subject engaging with the camera, which makes the image feel tense and gives it depth. The use of lighting is natural however, as it is a overcast winter day there isn’t much of a light source which is why there aren’t many shadows present in the image. The colours in the image are quite dull and could be described as ‘army like’ as there are many greens, browns, white and blacks seen in the image. The use of those colours relate to the Air force as the subject is holding two model planes and wearing clothing that makes him look like a pilot. It can be seen that Soth has used the rules of thirds because he has cantered the subject in the middle thirds. Overall the image has a sense of awe and a dreamlike feel to it as the freshly painted house contrasts with the messy, unfinished rooftop.

Thomas Lodin

Thomas Lodin is a Biarritz-based surf photographer who creates images displaying the simplicity in surfing. Lodin grew up in the northwest of France, an hour away from the beach which is where he spent most his time during the weekends and summer holidays, messing around in the water bodyboarding and sailing. He first started to take images to create memories with his friends which later developed to Lodin wanting to take “better images” whilst still having fun. When Lodin started to surf he would bring his camera with him, capturing images of the surf which he is still doing now. The images he produces are taken on film so when I edit my images I will take this in to consideration so my images have the same feel to them as Lodins. When taking his images he focuses on how the light looks and the contrast of the images as well as any emotion within the photo.

“For me a photograph is fixing a moment that is already gone, it’s so powerful so if it creates an emotion at that exact moment, that’s a good photograph.”– Thomas Lodin

What I enjoy about Thomas Lodins work is how well it links and relates to the surf culture as there isn’t a strong professional feel to the images, there is more a sense of freedom which links in with the aesthetic of surfing.

Image Analysis

This is a digital image of a portrait of a surfer. The mise-en-scene presents a surfer sat on his longboard looking down at the sand in the foreground whereas it presents a pier and a mountain in the background. The use of light is natural and coming from the left side of the image as you can see the sand is lighter on the left side of the image. The photo has been taken low angle from the right side of the subject which allows Lodin to get the whole surfboard in frame as well as allowing us to view the subjects facial expressions. The foreground and subject is in focus whereas the background is out of focus suggesting this image has a narrow depth of field. The colours in the image are monochrome which includes darker and lighter shades within the photo. Lodin had used the rule of thirds which can be seen as the subject is in the middle third and the foreground and background are separated in to the background being in the top third and the foreground being in the bottom third.

I will be using the work of Soth and Lodin for inspiration throughout my project, as I will take a range of photos of my sister as she prepares for the Euros (surfing competition).