How can I bring
DRAMA
back into dramatic imagery?
CANDIDATE NAME: ELYONAI SAAB CANDIDATE NUMBER: 2332 TITLE:who, what, where, when & why....? THEME: DRAMATIC IMAGERY
CONTEN
INTROD (Chapter 1 500 words) - clarifyin
BODY OF T (Chapter 2 1000 words) - Demonstratin and othe
BODY OF T (Chapter 3 1000 words) - Substantiating of ideas - recording ideas, observations reflecting critically
CONCLU (Chapter 4 500 words) - making meanin and other
BIBLIOG This lists either the books or articles fro during the writing of this essay. It sho
NTS LIST
DUCTION ng the focus of the investigation
THE ESSAY ng critical understanding of contextual er sources
THE ESSAY g decisions leading to the development s and insights relevant to intentions by y on practical work
USIONS ngful connection between, visual, written r elements
GRAPHY om magazines or newspapers consulted ould also include internet sites used.
I’ve chosen to study dramatic imagery because I want to try and re-invent the way to present themes and ideas within photos. Drama is all around us and I want to try and capture that within my work. I want to see if I can find myself within the theme and project myself on the work I create. Some of the key issues within my theme that I do want to explore are lighting, exploring both high-key and low-key lighted photographs and how the lighting effects both the denotations and connotations of a photograph. I want to explore framing and composition, the way I can position and capture sections or segments of something to make it more dramatic. I want to explore the scaling of objects, to capture a new perspective on normal, everyday things within everyday life. I want to try explore the subject matter, how nature is involved with drama and how man-made structures create drama. There are various ideas, literal, technical, symbolic and cultural ideas that link to drama. The most basic and simple ideas relating to drama, the literal ideas will be the conveying of emotions through expression, for example, a smiling face, or a sad face, that convey drama. For technical ideas that relate to drama, there will be dimly-lit, high-key lit photographs that look at the way lighting effects drama. For symbolic ideas, there will be connotations of drama found in sky-lines, nature, man-made buildings and structures, that connote drama based on what they represent. Finally, cultural ideas, I could look at what’s special about England and the things you can find that represent England. There are key photographers that use dramatic imagery as a theme within their work, like Clyde Butcher & Eugene Atget, who both capture nature and buildings in black & white. Overall there is a sense of movement and capturing a moment in time within their work which is what I want to try and explore within my own work, experiment with it and combine it with my own ideas. The primary research I need to carry out is actually taking a lot of photos of both nature, people, objects and places, find which sub-section of photography I like and explore that, I feel that when I do this I can really find the part of drama that I most enjoy. The techniques I will be exploring within my work will involve the darkroom, it will involve the use of different filtering on Photoshop, I will explore actual manual control of lighting.
HI
DD
Size: Clyde Butcher
EN
This image conveys size to us as an audience due to the immense power of this photograph. It seems as though it starts behind the mist, and slowly the objects in the image, like the trees and the water, become more vast and larger in scale. It demonstrates size within nature.
ST
RU
Shape of framing: Edward Weston
CT
UR
This photo perfectly demonstrates the ability to shape an image and capture the emotion of something, while using techniques to create an aesthetically pleasing photograph. The rule-of-thirds is used here, due to the sizing and composition of the face being in the middle and covering the photograph. We have the eyes and mouth going over the 1st third and 3rd third of the photograph. The angle of his face is interesting as well, we don’t have a front-facing portrait rather a side-on shot which allows us to focus on small details.
Focus: Lee Friedlander
E
This photo allows us to focus on one main ‘thing’ and other ‘sub-things’ if that is your wish as a member of Friedlander’s audience. We can focus the way Friedlander did, looking at the person about to come past. We can look at the background, behind the mirror and see a whole new world which looks like a normal suburban area, maybe in America. We can focus on the pole that’s right beside the mirror or we can focus on the subtle man in the back-
ground walking with his cap on. It’s an interesting photograph that draws the eye from one part of the picture to the other and is structurally eye-catching.
Surface: Jerry Uelsmann
This image is composed and constructed, not taken. The surface of the water presents to us another layer, another dimension whereby we can further explore the world in which Uelsmann creates for his audience. On the surface, the photo is complicated in its meaning, when in actual fact it’s simple at its core.
Colour: Eugene Atget
EO
FP
This photo by Atget explores the absence of colour. It’s simple, quite dull at first, but when exploring it I want to imagine what that place would’ve looked like with colour, with some life, and that in itself brings this image to life.
HO TO G
Time: Tom Hunter
This image is a copy of a painting called ‘Girl Reading a Letter at an open Window’ by Johannes Vermeer, who painted the original in 1657. Tom Hunter later called this image ‘Woman reading possession order, which I think not only shows the literal progression of time and what we display within the medium of photography, but also this encapsulates a moment in time, full of emotion for this woman. This encapsulates time and the effects it has, in the most brutal and real way.
RA
PH
S
THE VISUAL
Framing Composition There is a large area that we are able to see which is nice because it means that we can observe the various things, that although there is a light being shone on the woman, we are directed to look at the concerned man. The woman is actually not in the centre of the image, she is lower, the middle part of the image is the floor by the house, meaning that Hunter wanted us to dis-associate ourselves from the woman and focus on the night-time scene.
Focus We are drawn to fo on the man crouch very enclosed foca er view of the area closer because of guard, which mak like the trees in th the right side of th
L ELEMENTS TOM HUNTER Texture There are various textures in this image, one of them being the autumn leaves, the texture of the man’s jacket, the dog’s fur, the top the woman is wearing, the bark on the trees. It makes out for a very structured and interesting image that draws our attention to various components within.
Light Quality The light quality on this image is lovely, you do get a sense of night-life and the light-reception allows us to see the silhouettes of those around the scene, almost like a spotlight from a theatre to illuminate the scene. It’s subtle and not too hard. It has an orange glow that shows off the autumn leaves and the overall scene in what seems to be a park. We have other lights in the background to illuminate trees and a house, which adds to the effect of the image.
Colour The colour in this image is spectacular. There is a range of subtle to vibrant greens and oranges that illuminate the whole scene, making this image seem as though it’s autumn. To then have a mellow black covering the sky complements the image and the dark connotations of the image, of sadness, despair, maybe even anger but in the most subtle way, ocus on the woman, but more which complements the colours. hing down investigating. It’s a al point that allows for a wida, but we aren’t invited to look Angle of View f the menacing dog keeping Our angle of view is front-facing, towards the people. kes us focus on other things It’s a very 2D image that doesn’t allow the audience he background or the light on to explore, but it’s a long shot so we can see the area. he image.
Eugene Atget, 1901 - Versailles, The Orangerie Staircase
TIMELINE
“March 17th At a show in Paris 71 Vincent van Gogh paintings cause a sensation, 11 years after his death”
“June 19, op
“Feb 18th Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons”
“March 4th William McKinley inaugurated for 2nd term as US president, Theodore Roosevelt serves as Vice President”
“Jan 22nd after 63 years Britain stops sale of Queen Victoria postage stamps series & begins King Edward VII series”
“April 1 capture naldo i countr
“September 6th President William McKinley is shot by Leon Czolgosz”
24th 1st exhibition by Pablo Picasso, pens in Paris”
“July 2nd Butch Cassidy & Sundance Kid rob train of $40,000 at Wagner, Montana”
19th In the Philippines, recently ed insurgent leader Emilio Aguiissues a proclamation advising his rymen to end their rebellion.”
“October 26th First use of ‘getaway car’ occurs after holding up a shop in Paris”
• Aperture - This photo shows aperture evidently. There mus
could work with the aperture, it must’ve been a high ISO number, aroun
• Brightness - This image isn’t at all bright. This lack of brig
more interesting. The connotations of the image can be developed and
• Contrast - The contrast is the soul reason this photo stands
means that contrast must go hand in hand. It’s complementary to the s
• Framing - The framing is pivotal to this image. The black ba
lack of substance and actual substance. This juxtaposes the themes of t
tographer has captured our attention over a cabbage is how this image
• High Key - This image isn’t a high-key photograph, howeve subject matter.
• ISO - This image must have a high ISO number due to the back
posed. My estimation is around 1600. I would not estimate any higher d sharpness.
• Low Key - This is a low-key image, evident due to the lack o
ments the subject matter but becomes provocative and new-found inte
• Overexposure - This photo shows no evidence of overworks, there is no requirement of over-exposure.
• Saturation - The lack of saturation makes this image more
know exactly what the subject matter was, instead we have a more amb longer.
• Shadows - The shadows in this image compose the structu
that juxtaposes a cabbage leaf. This is due to the themes of life and hea shadows connote.
st’ve been a light that shone on the object which meant that the ISO
nd 1600 with the aperture (f) number at around 5.0.
ghtness complements the subject matter and makes the image much
d the whole image is more provocative
s out and appeals to an audience. The structural design of the image
subject matter.
ackground draws us to the subject matter immediately because of the this photograph because of the subject matter itself. The fact the pho-
e is so striking.
er it has some lighter aspects that were exposed by a light above the
kground being completely black and the object being almost over-exdue to the lack of noise in the photograph; it’s very clean and retains its
of whites within the majority of the composition. This not only comple-
erest can be invested within this image.
-exposure. The photographer wanted to create a darker image and it
e provocative. If the image retained its colour, we would be able to biguous image that entices the audience and holds our attention
ure and that in turn creates a more constructed and aesthetic image alth that comes with eating cabbage, to the themes of sadness that
SIMILA
LITERAL: Both present a structured skyline that fills half the image. Both are split in h TECHNICAL: They both create a high contrast, they are taken with a camera that’s s the composition. They are both taken at the same angle and both seem to have thei SYMBOLIC: They both symbolize aspects of life, they both present themes of melan plating and actively engaging in the photograph. CULTURAL: These photographs are taken from photographers Clyde Butcher (Ame born around the 2nd World War, so I’d say they both appeal to the longing of life, an
1.
DIFFER
LITERAL: 1 has water in it, 2 has land. 1 is brighter than 2.. TECHNICAL: The framing of 2 draws you in a lot more, whereas 1 can dire nature of the things within the water. 2 has a higher contrast than 1. SYMBOLIC: 1 symbolises the beauty of life, whereas 2 symbolises the loss CULTURAL: 1 doesn’t symbolise or link in with my heritage at all, it doesn’t ly. My Grandad served in the 2nd World War and this photo reminds me of
ARITIES
half. They both share black & white. settings in shutter speed are very fast due to the lack of blurriness and clarity within ir subject matter moving away from the audience. ncholy and a longing. These photos aren’t happy, they leave the audience contem-
erica) and Don McCullin (English). Both are from countries in alliance, and were both nd the dark clouds of war and conflict should be dismissed.
2.
RENCES
ect your attention to almost anything in the photograph because of the
of it. t speak to me as British, whereas 2 speaks about the conflict of war directf what it must’ve been like for those men serving.
CHAPTER 3 What made me choose on dramatic imagery was its enabling power of mirroring the emotions I wanted to convey in my work. I’ve looked at what ‘drama’ means and how I think drama should be represented. What I learned about dramatic imagery was that it was diverse, personal and provocative. The key photographers I’ve researched in order to further my ideas in dramatic imagery are Jerry Uelsmann and Clyde Butcher, with some insight into Tom Hunter and Eugene Atget. I’ve learned that both the natural world and the nature of people contribute to dramatic photographs, that drama is all around us. I’ve learned that different, seemingly undramatic photographs can be combined to create drama. I was deeply inspired by Tom Hunter’s work, the key photograph of the woman receiving an eviction order. I used this idea of loneliness in one of my final piece ideas. Jerry Uelsmann’s work on overlaying and manipulation inspired my to manually manipulate another final piece and digitally manipulate my third final piece. Furthermore, I found that the films I’ve been watching have recently explored themes of isolation, which has been represented in my work subconsciously. Realising this, I’ve exploited the emotion of isolation both in the nature of the photograph and what the photograph represents for me. In doing this, I’ve done various photo shoots that do exploit drama in different ways, my first being the summer photo shoot, which I created in order to present my initial ideas of what I thought ‘drama’ was. I took technical photo shoots that explored ‘silhouettes’, ‘refraction’, a basic look at Steichen’s work on ‘shadows’. I further explored dramatic imagery in my half term photo shoots, looking at still life and life itself. I explored most of the camera settings; ISO, shutter speed, aperture, focus. I manipulated these camera settings because it allowed me to see how they can effect the drama of the photograph. The lighting, contrast, colour affected by the changes of the camera settings are substantial and refreshing.
I’ve looked at different processes, including dark-room work which exploited the different objects and shapes within the photograph. Along side with this, the process of developing the photographs meant I could cut out certain parts of the photographs. I looked at the digital techniques on Photoshop and on camera raw to manipulate aspects of photographs including lighting, exposure, saturation and the absence of. These techniques ultimately, along with manual techniques, constructed my final pieces. I took the ideas of ‘absence of colour’ and the isolation of colour, and took them on to exploit my final piece photographs. I also took the ideas of camera settings like the ISO and the aperture, and created exciting and original edits. I took to heart my favourite photograph from Tom Hunter (eviction order woman) and found the opportunity at the Cambridge train station. I need to further develop the isolation of colour, whereas all I’ve shown is the full scale of colour. I need to show the contrast and the differences they have on a photo. The ideas I had for the display strategy were originally basic and didn’t work, with basic sticks that held up the photograph and ugly cut outs that didn’t look uniform. I changed this and decided to make my own box frames, using glass sheets and using the scaling of photographs to my advantage. I also wanted to explore a ‘pop out’ idea that allowed the audience to be active in the viewing of my photographs.
CHAPTER 4
In the theme I’ve explored: dramatic imagery, I’ve found that I didn’t know a lot. Dramatic imagery doesn’t just come in the form of everything and you can’t really find it absolutely everywhere. I’ve found that in order for something to be dramatic, you need to connect with the thing that you’re taking a photograph with, because if you don’t emotionally connect, the audience can’t be expected to. I’ve explored the manipulation of colour, both manually and digitally, I’ve looked at different photographers like Jerry Uuelsmann and Clyde Butcher whom I didn’t know existed. I’ve learned that drama is found first, inside the person that’s taking the photograph, which is reflected in the work. I’ve discovered how simple shapes, like leaves, small objects like pins and string can all create drama, depending on your ability to exploit it and dig it out of the seemingly boring nature of the initial object. I’ve discovered refreshing ways of creating drama, like how the developing stage of darkroom work can be manipulated so a photograph changes.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY SIZE: Clyde Butcher (http://clydebutcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/agawamuck-falls-3_clyde.jpg) SHAPE OF FRAMING: Edward Weston (http://www.kimweston.com/ wp-content/uploads/2010/09/6-PO-Galvan-1924.jpg) FOCUS: Lee Friedlander (http://www.americansuburbx.com/wp-content/ uploads/2011/07/811_FM000584.jpg) SURFACE: Jerry Uelsmann (http://www.uelsmann.net/_img/works/ju_5.jpg) COLOUR: Eugene Atget (http://www.moma.org/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMTUvMTAvMjAvMzBvZXRuc292bF9FdWdlbmVBdGdldC5qcGciXSxbInAiLCJjb252ZXJ0IiwiIl1d/EugeneAtget.jpg?sha=b2de66e2163a11ef) TIME: Tom Hunter (http://www.saatchigallery.com/imgs/artists/hunter,%20tom/tom_hunter_woman.jpg) Tom Hunter: (http://www.art2day.co.uk/uploads/6/9/5/2/6952097/6094409_orig.jpg) TIMELINE: Eugene Atget: Orangerie Staircase (http://images.metmuseum.org/ CRDImages/ph/web-large/DP124793.jpg) Jan 22: https://www.wired.com/images_blogs/thisdayintech/2009/05/penny_black.jpg Feb 18: http://news.images.itv.com/image/file/601720/img.jpg March 4: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/images/ first-family/25_william_mckinley.jpg March 17: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Self-Portrait_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
April 19: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/ Emilio_Aguinaldo_ca._1919_(Restored).jpg/220px-Emilio_Aguinaldo_ ca._1919_(Restored).jpg June 24: http://a5.files.biography.com/image/upload/c_fit,cs_srgb,dpr_1.0,h_1200,q_80,w_1200/MTE1ODA0OTcxNzU0MDk2MTQx.jpg July 2: http://thegreatwesternmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ butchsundancereal.jpg September 6: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/images/first-family/25_william_mckinley.jpg October 26: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/ thumb/0/0c/SteamLocomobile1901.jpg/300px-SteamLocomobile1901.jpg Tom Hunter: (http://www.art2day.co.uk/uploads/6/9/5/2/6952097/6094409_orig.jpg) Edward Weston: (http://edward-weston.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Cabbage-Leaf-1931-39V.jpg) Clyde Butcher: (http://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/dti/rendered/2009/08/flo_butcher080909_a_79527a_8col.jpg) Don Mccullin: (http://www.aperture.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/61-e1444846328544.png)