Alec Soth is an American photographer who photographs strangers in different parts of America. He targets individuals out and about with unique equipment like tents and suitcases. One of his projects was called ‘Sleeping by the Mississippi’ where he travelled by the river and photographed interesting individuals he past. He aimed for people with a unique story and showcased their characters through props and environment.

This photograph shows an older lady sat on her chair in a large, old house. She is centred in the frame surrounded by woods, patterns and greens. It looks as though there are two images overlaid: one of the house and the second with a tree. There is an out of focus plant also at the front which creates a sense of depth as everything else in frame is further away and sharply in focus.

This photograph is laid out as though the viewer is looking through a window and the trees appear like a reflection. By peeking through a window into the lady’s personal home the viewer is peaking into the woman’s life as homes are used in the media for as a reflection of a person/characters mind and personality. Her home has earth tones and lots of wood which shows a down to earth headspace. She has a plush orange chair which shows her loving/comforting personality. To her side is a large, modern window which lights up the whole room. This shows an open mind and cheerful personality which shines bright despite being realistic and down to earth. Additionally she has a selection of bold patterned cushions and carpets which show an unconventional look on life.

The woman herself is dressed in a green nightdress. Its shape reflects a nightgown which shows how she values comfort. By making the photograph look like its been taken through a window this isn’t necessarily how she would present herself to others and instead how she dresses on her own in the comfort of her own home. Despite being alone in her home, she is dressed well in a clean and tidy dress which shows how she values and cares for herself.

The overlay of greenery shows how she isn’t in a bubble or closed off but overgrown with external influence, has a successful social life and constantly growing as a person. Alternatively it could show what the woman is looking at. Since it looks like a reflection, it seems as though the woman is staring out her window at the woodlands. This could show an appreciation for the plant life but also outside in general which she might’ve taken for granted when she was younger and able to spend long periods of time in. If her house is representative of her mind then this staring out a window could be showing her longing for the outside world around her and what’s past her through the years and therefore her youth. She could be reflecting on her past with regrets or pride or wishes to go back. I believe this could also show a disconnect with the viewer as she is looking at the world around her with appreciation while the viewer is looking inwards at her instead and judging her based on her environment in the comfort of her home. We weren’t invited in were just looking.

The woman is well lit in light colours to make her stand out from the darker background. Additionally she is centred and well lit which draws the eye and showcases that nothing makes up her personality but her. Some people put too much importance into work or material items however this woman understands the balance. The flower in the foreground could represent her love for her garden however since it does not obscure her in away way it shows that she doesn’t let it takeover her life.

This portrait also showcases and highlights the woman’s age. The abundance of bright colours with bold patterns creates a vintage appearance. The background also highlighting outdated maximalist styles with woods, a grand fireplace and an excess of cushions and rugs also looks old in comparison to white, modern minimalistic styles. I believe that the background having an older look is significant because it reflects both the woman’s age and her interests. This tells us a lot about the woman without ever meeting her as interests and experience will impact her personality and therefore her home.

What is an Environmental Portrait?

An environmental portrait shows a person in their working space or a spot associated with them for example a pianist at his piano. This tells us about the person and their typical surroundings while also placing them how someone else would view them. These are posed typically with the person in there centre engaging with the camera.

Photoshoot Action Plan:

Who

For this photoshoot I wanted to take photos of several people. It would be easiest to photograph people I already know as the photoshoot would be more natural. I would also already know these people so I would know where they spent time and what they mean to me.

• First would be my sister, she likes to bake cakes and has gotten really good at the basics.
• Second would be my father who works in the building trade to ensure houses and community spaces are safe for use.
• Finally my friend. Her house was damaged during the storm which has affected her family negatively.

What

Environmental portraits need a person in front of a meaningful background. I will take images where they are both engaging with the camera and looking away. Some will be front on and I would like some to experiment with foreground and positioning. Additionally I don’t want all the images to be of people just standing. So I will experiment with poses also.

Where

• My sister will need to be in a kitchen of some sort for a least a few images however I might try and position her at a stand or cake sale also holding her cakes.
• My father will be in front of some building site where construction is clearly underway. Ideally one which wont particularly safe either.
• My friend will be in front of storm damage. This could include fallen trees, damaged housing and excessive build up of debris.

How

For my sister I will set her up in a way where we can see the process of her baking and her. This will probably be by having her stand in front of a counter I can get behind so she can work as normal and I can see the whole thing. For my father I will make sure he’s wearing a helmet and hi vis jacket so that he looks like a builder and set him up in front of a building site. I will stand quite far back so that the background is visible too. For my friend I will try and experiment with poses and with props. I will also be stood back with a 55mm lens so that I see the whole background also. I will mostly be using natural lighting since these will be outside however for the insides I will experiment with lighting to find what looks best. I might set her up near a window or under some artificial lights but I’m unsure what will photograph best.

Photoshop

To create this virtual gallery I opened a blank gallery space in photoshop and each image to add separately. I opened all 4 images together and arranged them onto each wall. The two angled walls didn’t fit the image so I changed the perspective of each image. Then using the fx drop shadow I created a shadow under each image and made sure each one had the same.

Artsteps

Using Artsteps I created an empty room and opened up the same three photographs. I arranged these on the walls and sized them up since they loaded in really small. In this virtual gallery the side images looked better because in photoshop the perspective made the images look wonky. However the room I used in photoshop looks better because It has lights and a skirting board which makes the room feel more real. The room was also a little claustrophobic. I wouldn’t want it as wide as the photoshop room but somewhere in the middle which wont make the centre image look too small or big. It should frame it nicely. Maybe next time I could use Artsteps to get the perspective right and layer it on the photoshop layer.

Evaluation

Arrangements

I began this project with still-life arrangements were I used the infinity screen with a continuous studio light. The light was at an angle to the side so that the objects were well lit with shadows to create depth and variation. These was inspired by 1600 Dutch still life paintings so they included assortments of many different objects, sizes and colours.

The second photoshoot was inspired by modern still-life arrangements with one main focus and less going on. I used two pieces of card to replicate the table often holding the objects and got up close for a tighter frame.

When editing I had to rotate and crop the images especially in the second photoshoot because there was a horizontal line which was obviously not straight. I adjusted the white balance so the background was bright and clearly white.

I think I should have dulled colours and lighting to represent the aesthetic of he paintings and combined more objects into the arrangements. I would also like different levels of objects and cloths on tablesw with neutral colours and rustic wooden tables to look more like an old painting.

Singular

The singular tools were inspired by Walker Evans. They were household items in front of a plain background with simple overhead lighting to reduce shadows.

I edited these photographs in Lightroom with black and white pre-sets, exposure settings and white balance. To present them I used photoshop to over crop and add a boarder which is different to the inspiration but presents the photographs well.

I wasn’t able to raise each item like Walker Evans however with a lightbox there were no shadows. I should have photographed a wider variety of objects and not be limited to household tools. I could have found other shapes with more meaning to me like a hairbrush for example to take ownership over this project however it wouldn’t have been as much of a response to the artist.

Single Objects

I chose four images overall as my final images. This included two single tools and two arrangements. The single tools were set in black and white inspired by Walker Evans.

I used a black and white preset which had high contrast. I then opened them in photoshop to add a border with the stroke option. I added this because the white background meant that the frame around the objects wasn’t clear. The framing was different between both images also, scissors were wide and pliers were thin. In photoshop I could crop outside of the image to add in more white around the plyers so they’d both have similar boarders.

Both of these images now look like they should be together so in photoshop I opened a A4 landscape page which I added both images to. I really like how the boarders look when the images are together and this helped visualise what the images would look like mounted. I chose the diptych style of presentation which places two similar photographs together. This process taught me how to experiment with arrangements as well as how to edit in photoshop.

I tried a triptych including the mixed photograph too but I don’t think the three sit together very well. The two are similar enough but the edited one is changed a little too much from the other two. Both halves are smaller and moved which becomes obvious next to the original.

Still-life arrangement

These two images don’t look like they would look right in a collage together and I believe this is because they are at different angles at different distances from the camera. The plyers are much closer to the camera than the violin. Also the set ups are different. I took the plyers in front of two pieces of card with a harsh split between the two. The card is matt and the lighting was just natural lighting. This looks significantly different to the infinity screen I used with the violin which used a continuous spot light, a backlight and a reflective white background without any harsh lines behind.

I tired arranging both photographs into a diptych but I think presenting these as single photographs looks better. This is because the objects used are extremely different. The plyers are balancing with tapes which have an industrial style while the violin uses household items which creates a homely feeling. This shows the importance of items as they can completely change the meaning of a photograph.

History

Still life (Coined in the 17^th century and derives from the Dutch word stilleven) is a Dutch style of painting popular throughout Northern Europe during the early 1600s with arrangements of lavish and exotic objects with depth and meaning. 

Abraham van Beyeren is a Dutch artist who painted ‘The Hague’. This painting includes fruits, a lobster, metalwork and glass to represent wealth, luxuries and earthly pleasures. Previous paintings of the century focused on reminders of immortality with wilting flowers, human skulls and rotting foods. 

Timeline

Still life solidified itself as a genre from the Netherlands in the late 16th century hence ‘stilleven’ the Dutch origins for the English term still life. These were paintings made up of religious symbols. It emerged from rising fascinations with high detailed realism in art.

Gradually the religious symbolism was swapped with moral lessons, the natural world and exploration of the new world. This prompted the beginning of scientific illustrations and the appreciation of objects without religious or superstitious meanings. Interest with exploration of the new world brought newfound wealth and with it expensive arrangements of silvers and golds as opposed to flowers and meats.

By the 18th century production decreased in favour of Rococo decorations on porcelain and wallpapers. All religious symbolism had been lost and paintings were made up of interesting textures like feathers and fur instead.

The 20th century saw attention shifting to abstract, representational art instead. Detail had been replaced with bold outlines and vibrant colours, backgrounds were no longer plain and incorporated many different colours which was a major step towards abstract art.

Now in the 21st century still life has extended to all sorts of mediums such as sculptures, photography and digital art.

Objects and Meanings

Vanitas are a metaphor for transience(the state or fact of only lasting a short time) since the 1620s saw the outbreak of bubonic plague.  

Memento Mori is an artistic reminder of the inevitability of death. Skulls, hourglasses, clocks and snuffed candles are all common symbols used in Memento Mori photography.

• Skulls represent the certainty of mortality probably because the skeleton is only visible after you’ve begun decomposing after death.
• Flowers represent life and growth because spring is when flowers bloom and their lives are so short that you can witness their whole cycle.
• Mirrors represent soul in reflection because they reflect.
• Musical instruments represent beauty and transience because music requires skill to master and can singlehandedly change the mood of a room as well as being an admirable skill and can create beautiful art pieces.
• Silvers and golds represent luxury because of the price tag associated with these items.
• Candles represent the passing of time because they gradually burn down.
• Seashells represent birth, purity and fertility.
• Insects represent transformation and decay because of the change from caterpillar to butterfly and they slowly eat away at plants and creatures.
• Dead animals represent contradiction and the hunt because they are either a predator which hunts or prey and will be hunted.

Final Image

For this photograph I only used 3 objects. The background is split in two with both black and white card used which lines up with the tapes and tools. I used a low angle which made the objects appear slightly larger so they would fill the shot. There are only three colours: black, white and red which I think creates a more uniformed look and gives the photograph a simplistic appearance. I changed the temperature because it had a blue tint before but also increased the exposure and contrast. This made the photograph brighter and the difference between tapes and tool clearer.

Albert Renger Patszch

Albert Renger Patszch takes black and white photographs with distinct shadows for the appearance of depth. His photographs focus on plants and landscapes and with repeating patterns and clear lines. I believe this photograph is a good example of these features combined.

This photograph shows a plant stem vertically filling the frame which creates a clear line through the centre. This creates a sense of symmetry without both sides being the exact same.

This photograph is black and white with the subject dark and the background much lighter which contrasts to separates the two. Black and white is more dramatic since colours are vibrant and cheerful. This photograph could have easily been taken in colour but that would focus attention to the shades of green as opposed to its shape and texture.

Camera settings + exposure values

Aperture

Aperture controls the blur or sharpness of an image. f/2.8 blurs the background so makes the subject stand out so is used in portraits. Lower number means more background blur. f/22 has a clear background so is used in landscapes.

Shutter Speed

Shutter Speed is how long the camera is taking the photograph. A longer shutter speed (i.e 1 sec) will have moving objects blurred. This shows movement. A shorter shutter speed (i.e 1/4000) will have a moving object crisp.

ISO

ISO affects the exposure by sensing how much light to let in. On a bright day you would use a low ISO so it isn’t as sensitive and in the dark you would need a high ISO. You always want to be using the lowest ISO possible because it will look grainy otherwise.

Camera simulator

I used Cannons camera simulator three times with different settings to see what affect they had on a photograph and I think the third turned out the best. The colours are bright, the shutter speed is slow so shows movement and the background is slightly blurry so the aeroplane stands out. The photo before is grainy and too dark but the propeller is completely still. The second photo had its ISO too high and looked grainy and the first was a bit too overexposed.

Walker Evans

“Beauties of the Common Tool” was originally published in 1955 by Walker Evans with several photographs of individual tools.

The tool is clearly made of metal which reflects light and creates a clean, elevated appearance which demands respect. Depth is clearly shown with the tools harsh shadows that the lighting provides giving the tool a more complex appearance.

This photograph shows a utility tool raised in front of a plain background. This is a birds eye view with an overhead light and raised so that the shadow is kept to a minimum. This ensures that the tool is shown like you would see it and is clearly in focus showing that the subject is deserving of attention and easily draws the eye.

The photographer made sure that there were no distractions in the photograph by using having a plain colourless background framing the object. This ensures that focus is purely on the tool and forces the viewer to see the subject in an isolated environment and appreciate it in a way they wouldn’t have before.

Response

For this photoshoot I arranged tools in front of a lightbox for a bright white background, this made sure the objects were well lit. The second part used two sheets of card with only the pre-existing natural light. This meant that the images were much darker. To adjust the camera settings was difficult and required the ISO to be largely increased as well as the shutter speed and white balance changed. As a result lots of the photographs looked blue or dark because I had to trying out each option. Only the final 6 were bright and the correct white balance.

To narrow down the selection of photos I compared a few images at a time and selected the better one either with stars of colours. I managed to narrow the images down to 3 photographs highlighted with yellow.

Final Image

Darren Harvey-Regan

“Beauties of the Common Tool” was created in 2013 by Darren Harvey-Regan inspired by Walker Evans photographs of the same name.

This photograph combines two work tools through editing. They would have been two separate photographs that were joined together down the centre for a a clear line of separation.

I believe that this line was vertical because it purposefully shows both the head and handle of both the tools. This is significant because had the split been horizontal, one of the tools would have been beheaded. This would look more like the photographer was picking and choosing his favourite parts of the tools rather than appreciating both tools for their usefulness. A tool is useful as a whole rather than dismembered parts

Similar to Walker Evans, this photograph is to celebrate and appreciate house tools for what they are. The tools are infront of a plain background as to not draw attention however this time the background is much lighter. I believe this is because the photograph isn’t supposed to be as dramatic, it is brighter and more celebratory. Both the tools have different functions and different appearances but by stitching them together, this shows that they are equal. The tools are significantly darker also which contrasts with the background making them stand out more.

For this image I set the ISO to 100 since the lightbox was really bright and didn’t need any higher. Since it was so bright I also used a low aperture so that only a small amount of the light was allowed into the camera. This meant that the tool would actually be visible. I used 1/13sec shutter speed which was higher than the others to balance out the light slightly and the camera was zoomed to 41mm so that the whole tool was in frame.

Response

For this photograph I used the two Walker Evans photographs in black and white with a frame. Using photoshop I halved the plyers and layered the cropped image on top of the scissors. I tried to line up the round middle for both and arranged the handles on the same half. I think this image works best in black and white.

Formalism is the basic structure made up of 7 basic elements:

Line

A line through an image which creates a path from one specific point. Lines can be straight, curved, solid, implied or even psychological. Implied lines can be seen in the horizon line and psychological could be the point of a finger. These lines can also hold meaning i.e. Vertical – stability/static, Horizontal – distance, Diagonal – dynamics and Curved – fluidity. This is especially true with the horizon line which creates a sense of calm.

Shape

A shape is a universally recognised formation of lines and space. These can be an outline of an object or a gap in a surface. Shapes can overlap to create new ones or change in angle and appear completely different. A silhouette contrasts with its backgrounds and contains no textures – this is the most visually obvious use of shape in photography and is clearly 2D.

Form

Shape and structure distinguished from its material. It is 3D with height, width and depth. Shadow creates depth that would otherwise be missing in a photograph. Highlights, midtones and shadows capture the spectrum of tone.

Texture

Characteristics and appearance of something. Texture can be described as: soft, shiny, wet, bumpy etc. These can effect factors like light, reflections, shadows. Similar to form this is shown with shadow.

Colour

Colour is the aspect of appearance of an objects that differentiates between objects with hue, lightness and saturation. Colour has 3 properties: hue (description of colour), value (relative brightness or darkness of a colour) and saturation (intensity of a colour). Colour can draw different emotional responses for example: red – danger, blue – calm and purple – wealth. Bold and bright colours are good for catching attention however take away from the subject which is where black and white shines.

Size

Size is the physical size or bulk of an object seen in its proportions and dimensions. Size is often manipulated in photographs to create illusions. Using familiar objects is useful to create proportion in the eye of the viewer (a basketball for example). Without a recognisable object it can be difficult to understand the scale.

Depth

Depth is the direct linear measurement from front to back. Depth is broken down into 3 parts: Foreground, middle ground and background. The clearer it is between, the stronger the sense of depth. It is provided by visual cues: further away objects will have less clarity.

Image Analysis

We broke down these photographs into four sections whcih allows for great detail analysis of images:

• Techincal (i.e lighting and ISO),
• Visual (colour and pattern),
• Contextual (significance and inspiration) and
• Conceptual (meaning and ideas).

Features

Quick edit which is on the right hand side of adobe lightroom. Has a crop option, white balance and also a black and white section when the drop down is used.

The catalogue shows all the photographs. These can be filtered and saved in Collections.

Collections are files within Lightroom. The plus in the corner adds a collection and you drag images into it. If you ‘ctrl’ or ‘shift’ you can select multiple at a time.

This changes how you view the image. The grid shows the whole catalogue at once, the rectangle shows the one selected image in large. The ‘x/y’ shows two selected images back to back for comparison if there are two similar images.

For filtering and rating images there are three options:

• Flags, are a simple yes/no option. If you press p, its a white flag and ‘pass’ or ‘yes’. If you press x, its a black cross flag and a ‘no’. A yes means it is relevant to the project and a no means it is not relevant.

• Stars are a five star system. If you press a number on the keyboard the corresponding number of stars will show up under the image. 5 is 5 stars. 3 is 3 stars. Stars are the quality of the image and the second stage of the process. 5 stars means everything is in focus and in frame. 1 star means the quality is not usable.

• Colours are a small rectangle to the right corner of the bottom of an image. A drop down will reveal 5 different colours for further filtration and organisation. This is the final step after using stars. This refers to whether it is going to be edited. Red means no it will not be edited. Blue means unsure and depends on the amount needed. Green means that yes it can be edited and yellow means it will definitely be edited.

Edited Images

I started with 46 images and narrowed it down with gradually with each filtering option. I finally settled on one yellow and one green photograph which I edited in the quick edit tab.

Both the images were brightened using the white balance option however I didn’t know how to crop or rotate them. The first photograph has a shiny background and reflected the light differently to the second which has matt paper as a background so the whites look different.