Emma Ridgway Independent Practice
Capturing Nature For my Independent Practice in my 1st year I experimented with several different areas in regards to processes and techniques. I varied my work from illustration, to editing these illustrations, to photography. Of the three main areas in which I focused, I found Photography by fair the most enjoyable. I would therefore want to continue this interest within my Independent Practice for my 2nd Year. One thing in which I did not do last year however, was to create a meaning or a concept behind my work, meaning that a lot of my work had to particular message or idea behind it, that is an area in which I am going to focus this year in particular. I am very interested in the way in which light is captured in photography, and I would like to explore this concept in particular. I would create experiments using light within photographs, and in particular, the process of light and colours within nature and how it affects the images, This would mean that my main method would be photographical, however I would introduce a particular subject within nature in order to create a focus point for my practice. I would also hope to achieve from this process the ability to capture work in an informative and excitable way, so that I am not just experimenting with different techniques in order to create a good image. I would hope that overall my work would have some form of context behind it and be part of a brief in order to show meaning for the photo. As part of my brief I would also research artists and photographers which have a similar outcome to my own work, and to what I would hope to achieve as part of my work. I would hope that in focusing on a particular area such as nature, then I would be able to see how the lighting and colours of it could change, and possibly see how I could experiment with these photographs in order to see how they would look as drawings or paintings, and see how their colours have changed throughout these processes. I would hope to have a number of different out comes for my independent practice, focussing mainly on the photography, and the subject within the photography, and then onto how changing and experimenting with these can change the perception of the subject in the first place.
Photograph 1: I took this photo as part of my Independent Practice, I chose to dedicate the rest of my practice on the butterfly featured in this photograph through more photography as well as drawing and experimentation.
As a starting point for my Independent Practice, I chose to research photographers such as John Berger, Gregory Crewsdon and Stephen Dalton. I found that Dalton was a very good wildlife photographer, and it was his photos (such as the image above) that inspired me to take photographs of wild life. I found a particular butterfly almost willing me to photograph it (Photo 1). From this I took a series of photographs. I then realised that I wanted to dwell further in to wildlife photography; and ended up looking at their anatomy, and the varieties of these creatures. I went to the Natural History Museum to see the preserved butterflies that are there.
These sketches were created as part of my research into the anatomy and colours of butterflies.
These are photographs which I took of the butterfly in response to my initial research and ideas. I wanted to take detailed close-ups in order to capture as much colour and light in the image as possible, it would also allow me to have a better understanding of the anatomy of the butterfly. These photographs would then be experimented with and changed in order to make them visually interesting. These photographs have been desaturated in photoshop. I did this to reduce the intensity of the colours, which originally took away from the contents of the image. I feel that these photographs now look more detailed in their faded state, as the audience can clearly see the distinctive detail of the butterfly and its anatomy. I also like the contrast between the images; given the fact that the butterfly’s wing colour is completely different on the inside than the are on the outside. We are used to see a butterfly with it’s wings unfolded to reveal vivid colours, however we rarely see a close up image of a butterfly, sat completely stationary. I felt that this gave a unique look at the butterfly and also showed the juxtaposition between its colours.
Photo 4: This photograph shows the immense colour differentiation on the buttefly’s wings. The intensity of the orange against the dark brown gives the wings a vibrant and unique effect. I felt inspired by this photograph to see how I could mimic these effects through different experiments.
To continue my Independent Practice, I decided to experiment with the photographs I had taken. I decided to draw detailed images which would help me understand the butterfly’s anatomy. From this I created a view-finder, which would allow me to draw the more detailed image again, but jut focusing on a particular area. This allowed me to experiment with colours on an image which didn’t have much colour, or maybe draw a colour photograph in black and white, in order to see the juxtaposition.
Here I did the same process again, only this time I decided to draw one of my most detailed photographs with the most vivid colours (see Photo 4), in a detailed pencil drawing. I felt that this was useful in helping me to understand the lighting of the photograph, as I had to recreate it in detail for this drawing. I also used a viewfinder again, which allowed me to add colour to a certain part of the image, and showed how the image can be presented in certain ways, whilst still maintaining it’s detail.
For this image, I wanted to add more colour to a photograph which did not necessarily have that much colour to begin with (see Photo 2). I also wanted to recreate the extravagant detail which emerged in the buttefly’s face; as this is something rarely seen close-up. Again, I used a view finder to add more detail and depth to some of the more extraordinary parts of the image. I felt that this gave an insight into how detailed the original photograph was.
Finally, I decided to take my watercolour image of the butterfly one step further. I felt that in order to show the immense juxtaposition between the photograph and the drawings, then I should take all colour out of it completely. I feel that this adds more intensity to the image, and shows that the anatomy of the butterfly is so unique and recognisable, that changing its colours, or removing its colours, will still make it as extravagant as it was before. I think that this image shows the detail of the butterfly, and shows how difficult it is to give an accurate representation of this. However, I feel that I have captured nature in different ways, and responded to the photographs through experimentation, allowing me to come to the conclusion that creatures such as these butterflies do no necessarily need the colours they are given, but having them in the first place gives them an intensity, and detail beyond any imagination.
Bibliography The Photo Book Bento’s Sketchbook John Berger (Author) Twilight by Gregory Crewsdon Stephen Dalton ‘A leopard frog’ (http://www.stephendalton.co.uk/) The Natural History Musuem http://www.zoology-quest.net/wiki/index.php?pagename=External%20 Structure%20of%20the%20Adult%20Butterfly
Evaluation In regards to my original Independent practice proposal, I knew I wanted to do something which focused around photography. I also knew that I wanted to look at the way in which light affects a photograph. My original idea then, was to experiment with lighting. However, this changed when I started my research into photography. After finding work by Stephen Dalton, I changed my proposal to focus on capturing nature within my photography, and maybe tie-in the idea of how lighting and colours and can affect these photographs instead. I was lucky in finding a butterfly in my garden, that seemed very willing for me to photograph it, having been inspired by Dalton’s photography, I decided to make this butterfly the main focus for my Practice, and that I would experiment with how I could change its dynamic colours, and see if this ad any affect on the complexity of the details of the butterfly within the photographs. After taking a series of photographs I decided to edit 2 of my favourites, in order to see whether or not this had a big impact on the detail and the intensity of the photography. I found that in the two photographs I had chosen to edit, that it did not take away from the details within the image itself, and that it showed the major juxtaposition between the colour of the inside and the outside of the butterfly’s wings. From this I experimented with sketches, to see if I could recreate that detail, after a few rough sketches I decided to move onto more detailed drawings and paintings, before analysing them even further by using a view finder. I felt that this was necessary in helping me to understand the detail of the buttefly’s anatomy, and the depth of the colours which were so intense throughout the photography. Overall I feel that I am happy with my outcomes for this Practice, I feel that I have researched and developed my work from this initial research, and have been inspired by both my original concept of lighting and colours, and by the images of artists in which I researched. This practice also allowed me to take the process of photography and apply it to different areas, which gave me an overall better insight to the anatomy and the detail of my subject. I attended the Le Gun talk during the LAB week, however I felt more obliged to focus my independent practice on the work I was already developing, in order to make it the best it could possibly be.