Ena Catlin 16637370

“This is me”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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#ULIMAGESINTHEWILD

For my assignment- Images in the Wild – we had to take photos of existing adverts that are found in public places. Inspiration for this task is the word appropriation. To me, this means taking something and making it into something new. Also the artist Richard Prince, who is perhaps best known for auctioning a ‘stolen’ image and selling it for £1 million (seen below).

 

(Prince, 1989)

After looking around Lincoln’s town I decided to take multiple images and choose later which I thought had the most interesting qualities about them that were best to edit and fit the brief.

I decided to combine two images, in the end, that together (ovelayed on each other)  told a different story. The first is an Anne Summers advertisement, found on their store front. The second is a Twister Ice cream advert.

 

(My images, taken on my phone as part of the brief)

I thought that by combining them together it became more outrageous and daring because of the “You want me” sign. Also, I edited the two images into black and white so they ‘fit’ together better aesthetically. Following on from the brief of retaining a rough quality (because it was photographed on a phone) I used Microsoft Word to edit instead of software such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom Moreover, I cropped the final image tightly to the woman and the sign so that the text stood out even more. I am pleased with the final outcome because of the reaction it might provoke from an audience.

 

 

I came back later to re-edit the final image in Photoshop. I did this to improve my ability using the software, especially the element of merging two different images into one.

 

Reference:

Prince, R. (1989) Cowboy. Available from http://www.richardprince.com/photographs/cowboys/#/detail/1/[accessed 1 October 2017].

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Workshop: Week 2

For our second workshop we were given a canon camera (Canon D600 or D700, with a short zoom: 18 – 55mm), and set loose in Lincoln’s university campus. At first I was drawn to the water, with the swans and ducks near it. However, I decided to go explore elsewhere and went along the bridge over the train tracks to get high angles, as well as focusing on close-up shots of things I took interest in. I looked at light in the way of how it shone through a fallen autumn leaf. I liked the fluorescent light found at a cash machine and decided to isolate it, framing the composition so that it was unidentifiable. These were my favourite photographs from the session.

 

 

(My images. Unedited, RAW format.)

I feel more confident using the canon camera now, but I still need to get use to manually setting the camera, including getting the right focus, which I struggled with at first.

 

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Workshop: Still life

Experimenting with lighting.

(My images. Unedited, RAW format)

In a small group we were assigned a task to explore lighting using still life items. We chose a dark blue backdrop, a blue mug and yellow lemons because of the contrast in colour (they are opposite each other on the colour wheel). Before setting up the lights, we closed the window blinds, blocking out the sun. We also set the camera up on a tripod so that the objects could be moved without changing the composition. The first image shown has light coming in from the front right, creating a shadow to the left. We noticed that the lemons were getting lost in the shadow and so to bring it into the light we used a reflector. We used the reflector, bouncing the light back into the area, illuminating the lemons, in the second and third image. I think it looks a lot better using the reflector because it makes the lemons and overall image appear sharper. The fourth and fifth image have dramatic lighting, we achieved this by moving the light source closer to the objects so the lighting is brighter, harsher. Overall, I think the third image is the best because I like the composition – the objects are placed in the center and the camera is on an equal level to them – and the lighting, almost like a spotlight because there are two lights either side, framing it.

By doing this assignment I have a greater understanding of how to manipulate lighting for still objects, and in the future this knowledge will help me when I  use lighting for portraiture.

 

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Bela Borsodi

After the workshop I decided to look at an artist that uses colour in their still life photographs, this is where I came upon Bela Borsodi. Her work varies from still life objects such as the ones below, or surrealist – where she focuses on the human body, sometimes photographing it in a sexualised manner. I like Borsodi’s work because of the contrast she uses due to colour. For example, in the middle photograph (shown below) she has used green, yellow and red. On the colour wheel these colours are complimentary to each other because they are opposing, meaning that they allow maximum contrast. Borsodi uses this theory to great effect to guide the audiences eye around the photograph (also aided by composition).

 

 

(Borsodi, Unknown)

 Reference:

Borsodi, B. Unknown. Tatler #19 Separation. Available from http://www.belaborsodi.com/[accessed 6 December 2017].

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Found Object

For this breif we were asked to find an object that did not belong to us and show the item(s) in a new, exciting way. Therefore, I decided to take a walk around Lincoln in the hopes that I would find an object that was intriguing in some way. I found a collection of conkers that were withered with age, making them appear wrinkled. I liked the aged look of them, the curves and dryness they exhibited. Taking them back to my room, I set up a small area to take photographs of them in. For this, I used two pieces of white paper for the backdrop and ground, and two lights: a bedside lamp which acted as my key light and a small torch on the opposite side to counter-balance the lighting. I then looked through my contact sheet, settling on a final image that had good framing and detail. With the final image selected I began the process of editing it in Adobe Photoshop. In Photoshop I altered the colouring, levels and exposure, however, I made sure not to edit the conkers because the point of the photograph was to capture the conker’s natural appearance. (The final photograph is shown below.) I composed the conkers so that there were two together, juxtaposing small and big due to their varying sizes. I used a white backdrop because it reflected the light, but also because the conkers stood out well against it. I like how this turned out because I managed to capture the natural object’s unique texture.

 

 

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Workshop: Portraiture

Studio lighting 

(My images. Unedited, RAW format)

For this workshop we looked at portraiture and how to use studio lighting to achieve different effects. The first thing we did was turn all of the room’s ceiling lights off, then set the Canon camera up on a tripod. By having the camera on a tripod it meant we could alter the lights without disrupting the composition. We used three separate lights: a beauty dish and two soft box lights. We varied having just one, two, or all of the lights on at the same time. As seen in the first photograph (IMG_9388.CR2) in the contact sheet, we used two box lights either side of the model, slightly behind him and at the same level of his head, which meant there was a thin strip down the middle of his face that was unlit. We also used a reflector, aimed under his chin, to bounce the light back in because we were losing definition around the model’s neck.

 

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Andy Gotts

After using the studio, I decided to look at a photographer who uses that set-up for their photographs. Doing so, I found photographer Andy Gotts, who is well known for taking photographs of celebrities. His career started when Gotts was studying as a photographer at an art college and he had the fortunate opportunity to meet Stephen Fry. In his own words about the brief interaction he says:

“I begged him to pose and he gave me ten minutes. He loved the picture so much he put it on his mantelpiece. Celebrity friends like Emma Thompson saw it and my career began. Once you get one celebrity, more follow.”

(Caroline, G, 2016)

Reading an interview conducted by Caroline Graham, I discovered that the way in which Gotts gets his pictures is by first interacting with the celebrities. Before taking pictures he talks to them, getting to know the person and how he can capture their personality. For example, when he met Harrison Ford, Gotts had been “warned Harrison Ford would be grumpy and difficult.” but after having a conversation about WW2 planes with him, Gotts asked Ford to pull funny faces and that’s how he got the photograph.

Most of Gotts’ images are monochrome, allowing the contrast of the black and white of the subject and features (tops, glasses) to stand out. I like the simplicity his photographs tend to have, especially seen in these two, where the model is looking directly at the camera, their expressions almost stern; the monochromatic editing seemingly appears to enhance their facial expressions and the clarity of the pictures, too.

 

 

(Gotts, Unknown)

 (Gotts, Unknown)

References:

 

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 Thomas Ruff

Thomas Ruff has created a series of portraits looking at head-shots of different people. He is particular about the facial expressions, which are similar to that of a passport photo – where the model must not smile and look directly, straight on  at the camera.

Dan Adler, who wrote ‘The Apparatus: On the Photography of Thomas Ruff’, comments that many scholars find Ruff’s work as “cold.”

“Thomas Ruff’s work is consistently characterized as cold. Such readings focus on the artist’s methodical approach and show a particular unwillingness to delve beyond the surfaces of the people, places, and phenomena he depicts.”

(Adler, 2016)

I agree the work can be seen as cold because of the minimal composition, high-key lighting that illuminates all of the model, and the model’s facial expression, or rather, the lack of one. Personally, I like the expressionless model’s because it allows the audience to apply their own interpretation of what they are feeling and maybe even personality traits, too. The framing of his work is precise, with the model centered in the middle with equal amounts of space either side of them. His framing is something I would take forward into my own work.

“In a way I wanted to blot out any traces or information about the person in front of the camera. I also wanted to indicate that the viewer is not face-to-face with a real person.”

(American Suburb X, 2010)

(Ruff, 1998)

(Ruff, 1988)

Reference:

Adler, D 2016, ‘The Apparatus: On the Photography of Thomas Ruff’, Art Journal, 75, 2, pp. 66-87, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 December 2017.

American Suburb X (2010) Gil Blank and Thomas Ruff Discuss ‘Portraits’. Available from http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/12/theory-gil-blank-with-thomas-ruff-2004.html [accessed 7 December 2017].

Ruff, T. (1988) Porträt (P Stadtbäumer). Available from http://www.whitechapelgallery.org/exhibitions/thomas-ruff/ [accessed 7 December 2017]

Blank, G (2004). Available from http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/12/theory-gil-blank-with-thomas-ruff-2004.html [accessed 7 December 2017]

 

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Portrait practice

Following on from the workshop, I decided to take some photographs of a friend – someone who would be comfortable letting me take their portrait. I did this mainly to practice taking portraits and in reflection to Thomas Ruff’s photography.

Ruff’s work depicts head-shots of people’s portraits and I decided to copy his way of directing the model, telling them to keep a straight face, as though taking a passport photograph, and looking directly into the camera. Furthermore, I also took influence from his composition. Overall I am pleased with the two images I produced in response to the workshop and Ruff’s work because of the meaning behind the photo. The meaning behind my two images is the idea that human beings have the natural urge to understand what faces communicate, and so here I am challenging that idea because, due to my directing, the model is depriving audiences her mood, therefore forcing them to come up with their own understanding of what she might be feeling.

Original

 

Edited

(My images. Unedited, RAW format.)

In Photoshop I used an automatic tone correcter as well as a manual level adjustment layer to increase the brightness (by moving the black level towards to the white). By doing this I was able to correct the exposure and the colours. You can see the alteration in the background which appeared yellow before, but after editing now looks white. I think that by changing the background it meant the model stood out against it due to the stark contrast between the darkness of her hair and the white behind it. Moreover, in order to practice more editing techniques, I smoothed out her skin subtlety by using the patch tool and spot healing brush tool.

Overall, I am pleased with the two images I produced in response to the workshop and Ruff’s work because of the editing meaning behind the photo, which I talked about earlier.

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 Workshop: Portraits of strangers

In this workshop we had the brief of finding strangers to take photographs of. A difficulty I found doing this was rejection from people not wanting a portrait of themselves, however, I did manage to get four people to pose in front of the camera.

 

(My images. Unedited, RAW format.)

When taking the photographs I wanted to capture the model without the distraction of a background, therefore I used shallow depth of field in order to make it out of focus, but kept the detail of the model in the foreground. For the photograph IMG_1085.JPG (the man in a mustard sweater), the man fills the foreground and the tip of his head is at the top of the buildings, with water separating the two. Due to clear separation of layers, tight-cropped composition, sharpness and out of focus background, I think this is the strongest of the four pictures I took.

For this series, I decided to take the photos into Adobe Photoshop to improve my editing. (See finished results below.)

Edited

In Photoshop I explored exposure, brightness and levels. For all the images I individually altered adjustment levels so that the exposure was ‘right’. As well as this, I edited the background of the last image in the series so that that the distracting neon sign on the right hand side was removed, I achieved this using the ‘patch tool’. I feel more confident using Photoshop now.

 

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 Workshop: Architecture

(My images. Unedited, RAW format)

For this series of work, I used a long lens – 70-300mm. I really enjoyed taking pictures of the buildings because it allowed me to highlight aspects of them that otherwise might have gone unnoticed. If I were to do this again I would have gone outside when the lighting was optimum, unlike here where it is flat and dull looking.

After having done this photo-shoot I now find myself changing my final project to architecture instead of portraiture. I want to do this instead because I am interested in the shapes and patterns you can find in large buildings that you might otherwise not see, but zoomed in you can make the details stand out.