A2 Photography Component 1

Thursday, 5 January 2017

Connecting Essay 1

Connecting Essay:

The above image is a photograph from my shoot number 12, which I took in the college studio on the camera settings of ISO 200, F 29, and a shutter speed of 1/125. The detailing on the leaf of the cabbage look like veins, running across the leaf surface, this indicates that these are sustaining the cabbage's life supply, like how our veins carry our blood which supplies our body with oxygen; this symbolises how we are similar to organic objects like cabbages as we both need oxygen to survive. The cabbage is placed to the left of the image, creating a negative space in the right hand side of the image, I chose to not let the cabbage fill the whole of the frame as I wanted to symbolise that nature doesn't have to be everywhere for people to appreciate it's beauty; moreover, I believed that by only showing part of the cabbage I would highlight how nature is slowly being destroyed and fading. I chose to convert my photograph into black and white in order to emphasise the texture more within the image, additionally by converting this image into black and white it creates a darker connotation to the image, as the photograph appears to be dark and grainy overall.

This image is photographed by Edward Weston, I chose to compare this image with one of my own as likewise to Weston I have photographed images in the studio of a cabbage. The denotation of this image is that it's a photograph of a cabbage leaf in a studio. Weston has captured the flow of the leaf, through the curvaceous lines that run down the leaf, which eventually flow outwards, in a river-like fashion. A higher key lighting is used in this photograph, in comparison to my own; the difference in lighting works well as the top of the cabbage is lighter, linking to a connotation of feminism- whereas, the lower parts of the leaf are darker and obtain more shadowing, linking to a connotation of masculinity; this change in lighting may be to symbolises the stereotypical differences in society involving men and woman and societies expectation of this.

Overall, I believe my work and Weston's links well as they are both exploring the form of a cabbage within a studio setting; furthermore, both of the images are in black and white which explores the textures within each photograph more, as the folds on the leaves of the object creates shadowing. The angles in which the cabbage's are placed in the two photographs are different, as in my photo the cabbage is placed to the left, whereas in Weston's photograph his is placed central, this may be due to the various aims of his shoot and of mine. Both photographs explore the veins that are on the cabbage's surface and how their shape defines the overall meaning of the cabbage, as in Weston's photograph the lines are softer and more curved- contrasting the lines in my image which are harsher and more jagged, again this may be due to the contrasting aims of mine and Weston's shoots.

Shoot Twelve - Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to explore other abstract areas of organic objects, and not just how I could make them into cave-like environments; therefore in this shoot I focused on the texture that the outside of a cabbage obtains. The lines which the leaves branch off of on the cabbage appear as though they're veins, consequently I believed this would work well with my theme of exploring nature as this shows nature is the machine powering us, like how veins carry blood around our bodies.

The objects I used in order to conduct my shoot are as follows: a cabbage to photograph, a reflector dish to project light onto the front of the object, a camera to photograph the images, a tripod to keep my camera still, a table to place the object on, a light reflector to reflect light back onto the object, a black back drop to enhance the low key lighting, a light meter to record the lighting settings I would need on my camera, a reflector dish to attach to the light, and lastly a knife to cut open the object itself.

Below is a lighting diagram of how my shoot was set out:

I believe my shoot was successful as the texture on the outside of the cabbage was enhanced in my shoot, through my use of low key lighting to work the shadowing well within the image. When I edited my images in photoshop I lowered the curves to enhance the shadowing within the images further, whilst also converting the images into black and white as I believe this strengthens the mysterious, and hellish feel that the images emit.

My best image of this shoot:

This image appears as though the veins on the cabbage are roots from a huge tree, however the viewer cannot see any trees, therefore this symbolises that this environment is bare and malnourished. The negative space above the cabbage appears as though it's casting shadows onto the textured and ambiguous object below; due to there being no vegetation within the image this links to the issue of pollution and deforestation. This hellish environment appears to be parched as there's no liquid on the surface of the cabbage- subsequently, this again creates a link in the audience's mind about the environment being malnourished as it's common knowledge that trees need water to grow and thrive. The circular shape of the cabbage also represents the circular shape of the world, which shows how the whole world is represented by this one cabbage. I shot this image with the following camera settings: ISO 200, F 29, and a shutter speed of 1/125. I chose to turn the cabbage upside down in this photograph in order to emphasise the veins, running from the bottom of the cabbage. When editing my image I lowered the curves to emphasise the shadowing whilst also converting my image into black and white, in order to further emphasis the texture.

My worst image of this shoot:

This is my worst image of my shoot due to the fact that it doesn't really represent anything significant as the overall image looks like a leaf, whereas I wanted it to look like a parched environment struggling to survive. I chose to convert the image into black and white in order to highlight the texture from the veins on the cabbage more, meanwhile lowering the curves to also aid this. If I was to reshoot this image I possibly would photograph the cabbage from a side angle in order to capture the bumps from the veins sticking out of the cabbage. I photographed this image on the camera settings ISO 200, F 29, and a shutter speed of 1/125.

Experimentation:

I believed that I should experiment with gels over my reflector in order to find what I believed would look best within my overall shoot.

Below is a lighting diagram of how I set up my shoot with the gels:

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125
I believe this image is interesting as the blue lighting emphasises the veins on the cabbage due to the light focusing on them. However, this technique didn't quite match the aims of my shoot which was to explore the struggle in environments.

Studio Equipment:

Snoot- a tube object which fits over a light in order to allow the photographer to control the direction of the light more precisely.

Reflector dish- a reflective surface which fits over a studio light, and is used to project light onto the object.

Tripod- a stand which holds a camera on top, in order to keep the camera still to prevent any blur that may be caused.

Light reflector- a reflective surface, which allows light to be reflected back onto the object in question, this can also be used to diffuse natural light.

Gel- a coloured gel is a transparent coloured material which fits over a studio light, in order to project the light as the chosen colour.

Shoot Twelve - Straight Images

All of the images below are of a cabbage, which I photographed in the studio with a low key lighting technique in order to expose the shadowing of the veins, which are on the leaf of the lettuce. By converting my images into black and white in photoshop I believe this captured their shadowing better, meanwhile making the images slightly ambiguous as to what the object is. Additionally, the black and white effect of the image allowed me to make it seem as though the leaf was dry, and sparse subsequently implying that they're struggling to survive as it's common knowledge that nature needs water to thrive. The veins on the leaves appear as though there roots of trees, this symbolises that the foundations for nature to thrive is evident- however, the right conditions are not present (water) for any trees to grow on this surface. The texture which I explored within these images differed from some of my previous macro shoots as I focused on cave-like structures before, however within this shoot I focused on the outside of the cabbage, and its texture fundamentally.

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

ISO - 200

F - 29

Shutter Speed - 1/125

Tuesday, 3 January 2017

Shoot Eleven - Work Diary

In this shoot I wanted to create hellish, dark and gruesome images inspired by Nadege Meriau's work. I believe I successfully executed my aim in this shoot as the images are gruesome and cringeworthy; the majority of Nadege's images are dark and unappealing therefore this is the aspect of her work which I have explored in this shoot. To conduct this shoot I used the following equipment: a reflector dish to light up the front area of the squash, a snoot in order to control the direction of light, a tripod to steady my camera, a macro camera to take the images on, the object itself in order to have something to shoot, a black backdrop to aid the low key lighting effect, a knife to cut the object open, a light meter in order to help me set my initial camera settings, and lastly a table in order to have something to place the object on.

Below is a lighting diagram of how I set up the studio for this shoot:

Overall, I believe my shoot went well as the outcome of the images satisfies my aim for this shoot. The pomegranate almost appears to be dead, or like human flesh which aids the creation of the abstract vibe these images elicit. I wanted low key lighting for this shoot as hell is considered a dark place, therefore this would show connotations to a hellish environment. The black backdrop that I used also works well in this shoot, as it acts as a negative space within the images.

Best image from my shoot:

This image is one of my more successful images from this shoot as it makes the appealing unappealing, due to the object appearing to be flesh and skin which obtains gruesome and dark connotations, linking this with hell. The seeds in the fruit work extremely well, as the juices from the fruit sit on them, and drip down them acting as blood over the fruit. The black area in this image acts as a negative space within this image, as due to the curved shape of the fruit this makes the negative space a creasant shape, like a moon which suggests nightfall and darkness. This image is shot on the following camera settings: ISO 200, F 32, shutter speed 1/200, the high aperture setting allows all details in this image to be focused on, allowing the viewer to see all of the disturbing details of the 'flesh', this shows how fruit can be like us humans as fruit too has 'skin' likewise to humans.

Worst image from my shoot:

This image is one of my poorer images from this shoot as there's no depth being created, the promegranet is flat, and the seeds do not provide much detailing to the overall image; despite this, I do like how the darkness fades into the object without being too sharp, like a vignette. Not many connotations can be associated with this image, due to it being a plain image, however the seeds in this image could be mistaken for tiny tadpole eggs which would link to the theme of life.

Experimentation:

Within this shoot I also wanted to experiment with coloured gels and how they can appear on organic objects. I used a blue gel in this shoot for a couple of images, I chose blue as this is a direct contrast to the reds and pinks in the object; however I was not happy with the results as you cannot see the blue a lot, therefore it doesn't have as much of a profound effect as I would have expected. Despite not liking the image as a whole I did enjoy experimenting with other techniques in the studio instead of just exploring macro photography. Below is the lighting diagram me for the sub-shoot I conducted using the gels:

And below is the outcome of the image when using a blue gel:

I like the image as a whole however I believe the blue colouring looks out of place within this image, making this a bit too random, possibly an orange coloured gel would have looked better, however there was only a blue coloured gel available.

Progression:

As these images look like flesh that's been cut up, I may leave them to go mouldy and then photograph them again, in order to explore life and decay within these images of organic objects; this idea will show how we are like these objects, as we to live and then die and decay.

Studio Equipment:

Snoot- a tube object which fits over a light in order to allow the photographer to control the direction of the light more precisely.

Reflector dish- a reflective surface which fits over a studio light, and is used to project light onto the object.

Tripod- a stand which holds a camera on top, in order to keep the camera still to prevent any blur that may be caused.

Light reflector- a reflective surface, which allows light to be reflected back onto the object in question, this can also be used to diffuse natural light.

Gel- a coloured gel is a transparent coloured material which fits over a studio light, in order to project the light as the chosen colour.

Shoot Eleven - Straight Images

These images of a pomegranate create gruesome links within the viewers mind, due to the red colouring of the fruit linking to the image of blood. Within this shoot I didn't want to explore depth, I wanted to explore how everyday objects could be made into ambiguous and cringeworthy environments, with the use of a macro lens. The blood links to the connotation of death in the viewers mind, which would then create an uneasy feel in the audience as this fruit may represent decaying flesh, likewise to what occurs when individuals pass away. I chose to photograph this shoot in the studio in order to have control over my lighting, and angles at which I photographed these images of the fruit. As a whole, I believe this shoot was effective as the red coloured juice creates ambiguity, and disgust within the viewer.