P H O T O P U B L I C A T I O N S
Page 3 and 4.......................................... Simon Gardiner Page 5 and 6......................................... Martin Tremblay Page 7 and 8.......................................... Caulton Morris Page 9 and 10......................................... No Added Sugar Page 11 and 12......................................... Michael Zhang Page 13................................................ Work Proposal
I N D E X
S I M O N
Page 14............................................ First Photo Shoot Page 15..................................... First Photo Shoot Review Page 16........................................... Second Photo Shoot Page 17.................................... Second Photo Shoot Review Page 18 and 19..................................... Third Photo Shoot Page 20..................................... Third Photo Shoot Review Page 21 and 22............................................... Editing Page 23................................................. Body Of Work Page 24............................................. Artist Statement
G A R D I N E R
S I M O N G A R D I N E R
Simon Gardiner’s black and white photograph is of a city on ground level and an upside down city, in the sky. Both of the photographs have been taken up high so you can see the whole city and in the city on the ground, you can see a main road, cars on said road, tall buildings in full, small buildings and the tree tops. Then the second city is possibly a picture of the first but has been taken from a different spot and different height. This second photograph seems to be taken from one of the tall buildings seen in the first picture. In this second image, there are no tall buildings, the road appears to be lighter and the tree tops are more distant. The roads are busier and the cars are smaller as well. Leading lines is one of the more prominent elements used in this photograph. In both cities the road, the cars travelling on the road, the buildings and the trees all lead you downwards to what looks like the end of the road. There is also plenty of repetition. The apartment buildings look very similar to each other and the sky is basically a copy of the ground level. There is a line of trees on both sides of the road too, creating one of many patterns. Simon has also lined up the roads of both cities directly opposite each other. If there is a message that Simon wants to get across, it is not quite clear to me. I can only pick out themes. The photograph has a slight green tinge, which is usually used in movies for dystopian or futuristic places. The whole two cities in one is surreal and could be a reference to a possible sci-fi theme. If it is a sci-fi theme than the photograph could be contemporary for its time. The image also plays with perception. Is the upside down city the one we are on or is it the ground city. Which city is the right way up?
M A R T I N T R E M B L A Y
M A R T I N T R E M B L A Y
Martin Timerblay aka Pinch has done a photographic series were his model is the right way up, walking and the background is upside down. The photograph is in colour. The background is full of dull, washed out colours and the model is in bolder colours. This contrast is like that of black and white photographs where the background supports the foreground. The setting of this photograph is on the streets, possibly in a China town in a big city and the model appears to be walking in front of a Chinese shop. There are some leading lines in this photograph but because it is upside down and the perception has been changed, they do not aid in drawing attention to the model. The main concept that draws attention is the abnormality of it and the colour. As I mentioned before the dull background supports the bold foreground, even though there are no complementary colours. The editing of this photograph is done really well. You cannot see any signs of the model being photo shopped into the image. The way the lighting matches and the model’s hair which is flat as if she really was walking on her head, makes the photograph look oddly natural. I think it would be safe to say that this photograph makes you think of the way we see the world. I do not know if this photograph was meant to be for commercial purposes but it would do well if it was. The perception makes you remember the photograph and the model’s clothes stand out to be a part of the focal point.
C A U L T O N M O R R I S
C A U L T O N M O R R I S
In this photograph by Caulton Morris, there is an everyday lounge room with the couch as the focus. The unusual part of this photograph is that there is a man standing upside down with his head buried in the couch’s cushions. The model looks like he is mid step or any leg movement and it looks like the model is actually doing a headstand. The white, blank background in this photograph helps bring out the colours and model which are in the foreground. There are no complementary colours and there are no leading lines in this photograph. There is a shadow that gradually lightens from the left top corner down, putting the model in a sort of limelight. The photograph is pretty simple and I think that the photograph’s simplicity is good because when compared to some of the other photos I have researched it stands out. In other words it is a bit different from the others. I think the photograph hasn’t much editing done to it or possibly none. The model looks like he is actually doing a headstand and you can see that the bit of his face-that is in view- is a bit redder than the rest of his body. This is the whole blood to head thing. This photograph is rather simple but it is still interesting because of its abnormality. Like the majority of upside down themed photographs, it makes me think of perception. Is the model in the right for being upside or are we right in thinking that he is upside down?
N O A D D E D S U G A R
N O A D D E D S U G A R
In a room that appears to be the right way up, there is a young girl hanging from the ceiling. Her hair is bunched up on the ceiling and her palms are facing up to the roof as if she is in a handstand pose. She looks like she is hanging from the ceiling without hanging off anything in particular. The background looks like it could be a bedroom or a study. This photograph uses colour contrasts to draw attention to the focal point. The dull grey background and the pastel like colours for the shelves and books contrast to the slightly brighter blue and white colours the young girl is wearing. Even the copper hair the girl has stands out from the roof and walls. There are also some commentary colours. The red chairs and the yellow light shade complements the blue the girl is wearing.
M I C H A E L
The photograph looks to be turned upside down. It looks like they shot the photographs with the kids lying up against the wall with their hands touching the ‘roof’. I say this because the skirt is more flat than puffed which only usually happens when you are sitting or lying down. This photograph comes from a series promoting the No Added Sugar clothing brand. As a commercial purpose I think it is successful because everything from the abnormal position to the colour contrasts, make the young girl and her outfit stand out. It also seems to play with the’ kid’s imagination’ appeal. Children are more drawn to things that look fun and imaginative than stylish looking ads.
Z H A N G
M I C H A E L Z H A N G
This photograph is of an Olympic synchronised swimming team diving into the water. The two girls look as if they are standing in shallow water, when in fact they are completely under water. The photograph has been flipped upside down. This is how the girls look at the end of their dive. There hasn’t been much obvious work done on the photograph and I don’t think it is really needed. The lighting of the pools for these events and the swimsuits the divers wear are extravagant enough and draw enough attention to the representatives that they do not need any extra help. The only thing that has obviously been done to the photograph is that it is flipped 180 degrees to make it upside down. As I said the lighting the pools have for these events is the only lighting you really need. The light up the whole pool and the surface is even lighter because of the usual lights in the building. I think the timing of this photograph is really good. The light surrounds the girls’ ankles and the way the feet are still above the water slightly makes it look like they are walking in shallow water. The lighting makes the girls look angelic, it similar to what you expect to see when someone paints Jesus. The ripples in the water also aid the walking in shallow water look. This series of photographs highlights a part of the Olympics. It is great in the way it helps advertise some of the less popular sports but I think overall, as a series, it would have been better if it was of all the Olympic sports. It could have been a great commercial investment in advertising the games. It has that potential to excite its viewers and intrigue their interest in the Olympic games.
For Photographic Publications, I have decided to make a photobook of upside down photographs. Out of the photographers and photographs that I have written about in previous pages, the one that has inspired me/has given me the most insight for my idea, is Caulton Morris. His upside down photographs are of ordinary, relatable sets that have the twist of an upside down man interacting with it. An example would be the picture I researched on pages 7 and 8.
W O R K P R O P O S A L
My idea is to create a similar concept to all the photographs I researched. I will start off with street and home shoots, to see which ones are easier for me and which ones look best. I will be taking the photos in my own home of the lounge room, kitchen, dining room, the backyard etc. I will also be taking photos of my model’s car. For the street photos, I will try taking photos of different spots outside shops and on pathways, the inside of some stores, escalators and roads. None of these photos will initially have my model in them (I am only going to use one model). To create the only the person is upside down, I will be editing him in later. The first photo shoot of my model, will be in front of a blank wall so that it is easier to cut and paste him in the other photos. I will take photos of my model walking and photos of him standing up straight with his arms in the air as if he was doing a handstand. There will be different variations of him standing with his knees bent, so that he can naturally be edited to fit into spaces such as a car. My model will need to wear the same clothes for each photo so that he can be the factor that ties all of my photographs together. All of the photos will be taken during the day and I will try to have similar weather conditions for each photo. I can try doing the home shoots at later times such as night time, but I don’t think artificial lighting will work very well for this idea. I will also need to take every photo of the model at the same length and angle. I’ll be doing some editing in Photoshop, with curves, blending and making shadows. I will play with the curves of the pictures of my model to match the lighting to the pictures of the setting, then cut and paste him into said setting. I can then resize him and blend him to fit into the environment and will also create shadows if they are needed. My final body of work will be a series of photographs, with normal settings and an upside down man. The settings will be all different, but the man in each one will be the same, wearing the same clothes and hopefully the lighting of each photo will be very similar. All the photos will be in colour as I think it will make the setting more exciting and public-looking. I want the body of work to come across as a bit absurd.
F I R S T
F I R S T
P H O T O
P H O T O
S H O O T
S H O O T
-Need more locations, more variety -Need to do more street and shopping centre photographs -Should try a more documentary style when it comes to the street photographs
R E V I E W
-Eye level photos are best for editing. The couple of higher angled photographs didn’t look as natural. -It was raining and cloudy all day, was nice lighting but should still try for a sunny day -For some photographs, I have to get rid of the unwanted/un-needed space (crop) -Use potrait, instead of landscape -The model’s poses worked well in editing (except the walking ones were a bit awkward) -Need more photos of my model walking -Need a more consistent lighting when photographing my model
S E C O N D P H O T O S H O O T
S E C O N D P H O T O S H O O T
-Have to be careful of afternoon/midday shots and evening shots. Will not be able to easily edit the model into the evening photos if he is shot in the afternoon.
R E V I E W
-Will need to crop. -Again need more locations. -The locations in the first photo shoot were good compared to these (may have to use them instead). -Have finally fixed up some of the walking photo problems - Have more steps. -The poses are good but clothes need to be consistent. I liked the outfit from the first photo shoot more than the outfits in this one. -Might need to fix up the lighting and exposure for a few of the photographs.
T H I R D
T H I R D
P H O T O
P H O T O
S H O O T
S H O O T
T H I R D P H O T O S H O O T
-Because I am making a zine, 8 locations is enough -I like the outfit and there are a lot of photographs with the model to work with
R E V I E W
-I will need to edit tints and exposures to match the model with some of the photographs. -There are not as many walking photographs as I would’ve liked. -Have to be careful when editing, some of the photographs are a bit grainy. -Might try using the backseat photo from the first shoot, just in case I need another location/photograph. -I have croped down a few of these images by zooming in that little bit more
E D I T I N G
E D I T I N G
To create my photographs, I used Photoshop. I quick selected my model and copied him across to the background photo. I then made him to scale with the people around him and blurred the edges around him to make settle into the background nicer. I also would turn down his vibrance or lower the saturation of my model to make him blend a bit more and when the background photograph had a tint I added a tint to the model. Once my model matched the background I would rotate the background image 180 degrees to make it upside down. I would then reposition my model to his spot. Because a human head is round, I would select and delete a bit of my model’s head so that it was as if it was flat on the ground. I do feel that my photographs look a bit unnatural and maybe a bit too photoshopped but that’s what I was expecting that from the beginning.
B O D Y O F W O R K
A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
The upside down theme is a fun one to work with and it is also meaningful. I had fun shooting with my model, making him do weird poses so that I could possibly flip him later. It was also fun to edit as it is an abnormal expression of perception. It was also fun watching my friends’ reactions when they first look at the photos. Watching them go from confusion to figuring it out and then to them thinking about why. Like most upside down themed projects, I too focused on the philosophies of perception. Is the way we see things now the right perception? What if one day we find out that we are seeing everything wrong? Is our time right? Are our current lives the right way round?