Perfection Flaws Compromises Ideals Jessica Adams
Contents
Mind Map Artists Research Interpretation of Artist Mind Map Ideas Techniques So Far Page Re-shoots Possible Ideas Statement of Intent Final Piece Project Evaluation _
Here I have created a mind map which consists of both artists photos and my own photos
MY
OWN
IDEAS
MIND MAP T
he photos above are from a photo shoot that I did while near a woods by my house. I looked into taking photographs of trees and woodland features that could be seen as a flaw. I Found a tree that had fallen down in the woods and I photographed it. There was also an obscure looking tree that I found which had grown weirdly and as a result looked like it had external growths coming off it. I photographed different
trees as part of the photo shoot. When taking the weather it was a sunny day so the sun was shining through the branches of the trees at different times when I was taking photos. In relation to flaws and perfections I have looked into the idea of finding things that were once beautiful. For example the tree above that has fallen over may have once been more visually beautiful. As well as this I wanted to look into the manipulation of beauty and what we as humans
do to ruin beauty. I decide that the photos would work best in black and white as the tones and greys in the photos can be seen better. In order to develop the idea of taking pictures in the woods I could possibly take photos that are closer which could capture the small imperfections in the wood of the trees. This would work when looking into the idea of flaws. As part of the development of my project I plan to look into this sub theme more.
The following two pages consist of ideas that I liked while researching into flaws and perfections. From the photo above I like the idea of including collage into my work. In the photo above I like the cohesion of colours and how they create an imperfect face. I also like the contrast of colour and grey. This is something I would like to include in my own work at some stage within the project. I also like the idea of taking photos of people and their features. The photo to the right shows a combination of body parts. I like this idea and the way it is set out in a grid.
Martin Parr
Exploring British Culture
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artin Parr (born 23 May 1952) is a British documentary photographer, photojournalist and photobook collector. He is known for his photographic projects that take an intimate, and anthropological look at aspects of modern life, in particular documenting the social classes of England, and more broadly the wealth of the Western world. Parr’s term for the overwhelming power of published images is
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“propaganda”. He counters this propaganda with his own chosen weapons: criticism, seduction and humour. As a result, his photographs are original and entertaining, accessible and understandable. But at the same time they show The British Population in unique light. His photos are bright in colour and they usually have content that is humorous of funny in some way. As you can see below.
he photo above I was drawn to because of how simple yet effective the content of the photo is. I can image that at the time when the photo was taken Martin Parr happened to be in the right place at the right time. As you can see the children in the photo do not look ready for the photo. I like the spontaneity of the photograph and how the expressions of the children are so varied. In addition the variation of vibrant colour draws me to the image as the edit on the photo is bright,
COLOUR AND CULTURE The photos on the following page are all different in there own way and each represent British culture in a different way. As you can see his images are hight contrasts in colour. The skin of the people appears bright, along with the rest of the photographs. I particularly like his photos as they are bold and vibrant in colour. Furthermore they show England from an alternative perspective. What draws me to the photos is the vibrant colours. The photos themselves are high in contrast so the colours appear exaggerated. Sometimes when the colours in photos are too bright it can appear overpowering however I think that this idea works particularly well for Parr. In addition to this his photos are busy and action packed. There is a lot going on in his photos however it is not displayed in a way which appears chaotic. His photos are also primarily close up. Most of his photos show detail in one way or another. Whether it be from the label of the bottle to the buckle on a shoe, he shows detail consistently across his work.
RITA BERNSTEIN The photos on the following page were taken in the early 1990’s at a point of change in the artists life
Rita Bernstein
is an alternative photographer who was once a civil rights lawyer. The photos that I have displayed were taken in the early 1990’s. The photos as you can see show a collection of dolls. Through the images Rita Bernstein explored the sorrows as well the sweetness of family life and, more generally, the ambivalence that shadows intimate relationships. In watching her own children, she was reminded of the conflicts and restlessness that pervaded her own youth. The collection of dolls particularly interest me as the show the dolls in a less traditional light. Dolls are supposed to be children’s toys so there fore they are more likely to look happy, where as these dolls look more sinister and sad.
‘PAST PERFECT’ What interests me most about her
photos is the black and white scale of the photos. I like the way that the black and white image appears more stripped back. By taking the colour away from the photos they appear raw. By removing the colour it also makes it more difficult to put an exact date on a photo. A lack of colour in a photograph often accentuates the light and shadows. Backlit subjects and dramatic shadows are brought to the audience’s attention quickly in black and white images. The collection of photos by Rita Bernstein are named ‘Past Perfect’ This title itself highlights that in the past these dolls were once perfection to someone, however over time they have drastically changed. The photo on the opposing page of the doll with its hand near its mouth works particularly well against the black background. The whiteness of the doll works well against the contrasting black. When taking my own photos I plan to use black and white photography. As a result of the black and white photos you can see more tones in the images. I think the collection of dolls is a powerful collection of photos. The pictures show just how beautiful old, ugly things can really be. They dolls probably were once beautiful but over time they have become cracked and warn. As a result of this they are now not as beautiful as the once were. In relation to flaws and perfections the dolls are a representation of how beauty changes over time. I like the idea of leaving an object and then re-shooting it after it has been left to see the physical changes of it. Rita Bernstein’s work particularly interests me and I plan to do an interpretation of her work in my own style in relation to flaws and perfections.
STEPHEN GILL ARTIST RESEARCH
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tephan Gill was born in 1971 in Bristol- UK. He began interested in photography from an early age thanks from inspiration from his father. His photographed today are held in various galleries on of them being London’s National Portrait Gallery. As a photographer he is very experimental with his work. Many of Gill’s photos are from various spots around London. When he first started taking photographs he took photos of people at a market in London for a number of years. As Gill became more interested in the art of photography he wanted to improve the quality of his photographs. Stephen Gill has also wrote various books. The one I found most interesting when researching into the Artist was the book ‘Best Before End. Stephen Gill Describes the book as ‘An attempt to reflect and respond to the intensity of inner city life by focusing on the phenomenal rise of energy drinks.’ With Best Before End I decided to give the subject
of the series a direct physical presence in the images. The colour negative films were part-processed and soaked in energy drink, which caused image shifts and disruptions and softened the film emulsion. This softening allowed for manual stretching, moving, tearing and distortion of the layers of film emulsion to take place, and further manual shifts were added with a soft brush while the emulsion was still pliable. All the drinks were sourced in East London, which is also where the images were made. The section I think are particularity interesting because he has both metaphorically and manually incorporated the idea of energy drinks into his work. I believe that in relation to flaws and perfections Stephen Gills work relates because he often incorporates the two ideas together in one picture. As you can see above the girl is lying in a selection of dead flowers. I think this photo works well and I plan to interpret it myself.
“I like to think of these photographs as in-camera photo grams in which conflict or harmony has been randomly formed in the final image depending on where the objects landed” - Stephen Gill
TAL KING T O A N T S
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he photos on the following page are from a book that Stephen Gill published called ‘Talking To Ants’ The photographs were taken between 2009-2013 in East London. They feature objects and creatures that were sourced from Gill’s local surroundings and were placed in the body of the camera. Stephen Gill says that his aim was to evoke the feeling of the area at the same time as describing its appearance as the subject was both in front and behind the camera lens at the same moment. When carrying out research I discovered the collection of photos. I like them a lot and I think I was drawn to them because
of how different they are. The pictures work well along side each other in the book. The idea of embedding objects in the camera is a unique idea. In relation to my own work it may not be possible to embed objects in the camera but I plan to interpret his work in some way by creating a selection of images that all relate to each other in some way. From the page the photos that I like the most is the photo directly below. The way in which the black silhouettes of the objects is over the top of the person in the background works well. The colours are also tones down to create a weak blurred affect on the image.
AARON SISKIND
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iskind turned the medium of photography on its head, taking pictures of found objects that were simultaneously true-to-life and abstract; he was one of the first photographers to combine what was known as “straight” photography (recording the real world as the lens “sees” it) with abstraction. Though he began his career as a documentary photographer, Aaron Siskind turned away from representation and towards abstraction in the 1940s, using his camera to capture the graphic patterns, shapes, and forms he observed around him. He first began taking photos when he received a camera as a wedding gift. Siskind’s work focuses on the details of nature and architecture. I like his style of photography as it is abstract. Siskind’s photos include different surfaces and objects that you wouldn’t always see straight away. His work relates to the theme of flaws because he photographed different buildings with show erosion and decay. On the opposing page you can see a collection of photos by Aaron Siskind that I have been drawn to. What I like most about his photos are the colours. The grey tones are all different and they show a variety of dark and light greys. What also interests me is that he takes a simple photo and makes it appear more than what it is. For example the picture of the wall on the opposite page in the bottom left was taken in Sicily in 1984 and it is of a wall. However the way he has captured the wall shows texture and architecture. It shows the wall has been there for a long time because of the cracks. I think this photo works well. It also reminds me of snakes skin. The idea of seeing something as it is not relates to flaws because this wall to some people may look old and decayed however I think it looks visually interesting. In relation to flaws and perfection this shows that a flaw can be perfect in its own way. I would like to look further into the idea of flaws as I think they’re interesting to capture on camera. By looking at buildings and other architectural content I would like to create pages on flaws. I would like to look into taken photos of graffiti on walls as this shows a flaw within society.
Aaaron Siskind Interpretation The following page consist of my own interpretation of Aaron Siskind’s photos based on flaws. During the photo shoot I took photos in my local area of building and objects which showed flaws. During the photo shoot I found a container that was made of metal and photographed what was on the side of it. I took photos of the container because it showed corrosion. The container had began to rust so I took a selection of close up shots of the peeling metal that has started to rust away. The following page shows a couple of my favourite images. I think the image in black and white works well because you can see a variety of tones and greys in the photos. By editing the photo in black and white I have linked my work to Aaron Siskind. Furthermore when editing the images I drew
out the saturation in some. As you can see the rust appears bright and orange in the photo on the opposing page. By doing this I created my own unique interpretation of Aaron Siskinds photos. To develop this idea I believe I could take extreme close ups of the rust, this could show an alternative view of the images. This idea relates to flaws as the building over time has changed and is probably not as visually appealing as it once was. The peeling rust shows a flaw because it makes the building imperfect and some what ugly. It also makes the container look warn. Over time things change, I think my images are a good representation of how over time flaws that weren’t always there can develop.
The reality of
PERFECTION
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he following page is a selection of my own photos which are an interpretation of Rita Bernsteins work. I decided to use the idea of the Barbie dolls and make the ‘perfectly imperfect.’ As you can see the doll appear distorted and different from your traditional Barbie Doll. When taking the photos for this photo shoot I wanted to channel what Barbie would look like today. When editing the photograph of the doll I made the skin vibrant orange in colour as if the doll as had a fake tan. Tanning and indulgence to products is something that I believe our generation is overly obsessed with. In addition the hair appears vibrant yellow in colour, I wanted to channel the idea that the Barbie looks artificial and no longer looks perfection. This is a representation of society today because a lot of teenagers believe that the more they change themselves the better they look for example cutting or dying their hair. They think this might improve the way they look, sometimes this is always the case. I have also cut the Barbie traditionally long blonde hair and made it short. By drawing on her skin it shows that even Barbie has small imperfections about her. I really enjoyed editing and taking the photos for this photo shoot based on perfection and I plan to develop this idea through out the rest of the course. In relation to Rita Bernsteins work I have made the link that: over time beauty changes. This is relevant because over the years our idea of perfection has changed to what it once used to be.
RITA BERNSTEIN Interpretation
The following page consists of a page of edits based on Rita Bernsteins photos of dolls. I decided to take picture of dolls that I could find. I first photographed the baby above and merged some images together.
“PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS” The following page consist of an image from a recent photo shoot based on Rita Bernstein’s work. The photo is of a distorted Barbie doll.
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n the following page I have displayed an image of a Barbie doll. The image is my own interpretation of perfection. The photo shows imperfection as a type of perfection. The way I have decided to display this is as if the Barbie is no longer ‘perfect’. I wanted to channel the idea of imperfection. Through the photo shoot I manipulated a selection of Barbie dolls. The reasoning for this is that I wanted to show that Barbie isn’t perfect at all. As you can see the Barbie in the photo has short hair. Traditionally the dolls have long hair. I have cut the hair of the doll to show imperfection. The children’s toy was first debut in 1959, and she was the ideal role model for all girls, or so it seemed. She was perfectly skinny, had a perfect boyfriend and family, perfect hair, perfect house. However in the photo to the right I have shown the opposite. Through this photo shoot I particularly wanted to portray that even Barbie has imperfections. The Barbie is a material object which once was the role model of all young girls, by manipulating and changing what the Barbie looks like I have made her some what ‘Imperfect,’ The idea of imperfection is that something is undesirable or faulty such as this Barbie itself. As you can see her face is taped and disguised, she also has a small blemish on her forehead. By displaying this photo in black and white I have stripped back the photo which shows simplicity.
‘My interpretation of flaws and perfections : imperfect’
IRVING PENN
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ere I have chosen a selection of photos by Irving Penn. Irving Penn was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still life. Penn’s career also included work at Vogue magazine
Irving Penn (1917–2009) was one of the most important and influential photographers of his generation which was the 20th century. Throughout is exceptional that lasted almost 70 years. Penn worked on professional and artistic projects across multiple genres. He was not only interested in taking photos he was interested in photography as an art form. He took photos in both colour and black and white and also published books of these. His photos of still life objects are particularly interesting and I have displayed some of his still life photos that I was drawn to. I think the photo of the inside of a bag works well as it is a simple concept that has been displayed effectively. The composition is effective because it everything in the photo is central. The bag being the focus point of the image doesn’t overshadow the objects. I would like to create my own interpretation of Irving Penn’s work by tipping out the contents of my bag
IRVING PENN T
he following page consists of a series of photos by Irving Penn that relate to still life. The photos are of flowers that are have wilted or that are old. I particularly like the series of edits. I have interpreted the photos as the flowers are imperfections. They are imperfect because they are of and have become crinkled and deshevelved. The set of photographs have been edits so they appear more vibrant. The usuage of the white background of the photos works well as you can see the close up tectures that the flowers have. I would like to incorporate this idea into my own work as the flowers could symbolise flaws. The series of photos is also interesting because flowers are usually seen as beautiful and in this case they’re old however they still appear beautiful in their own way.
Still Life
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A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is in a word, effective - Irving Penn
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rving Penn takes simple objects and makes them appear so much more. As you can see from the opposing page a collection of shoes appears artistic. Each of his photos are individual in the fact that they show basic objects as artistic creations. His versions of still lie objects are particularly fascinating because of this. Also what interest me about his work is the black and white images. When the photos are in black and white you can see more tones in the photos and when looking at the photos you sometimes look past the objects in the photos and you look more at the tones in the photos. The compositions of his photos are also clearly though through because when he uses more that one object in his photos he arranges the accurately. The eye to detail in his work is clearly visible because the compositions look like they have been though through In relation to arranging the still life objects.
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n relation to the chosen theme of flaws and perfections I Think Irving Penn’s work shows perfections. The reason I think this is because his work is precise and detailed. Particularly the photos on this page. They show perfection in the way that they are laid out precisely. Irving Penn seems like someone who could have been a perfectionist with relation to his work. His photos contain few imperfections and it looks as if he has taken time to lay out the objects in the photos to achieve the best possible outcomes. I like the photo the fruit because of the black and white edit. Usually when photographers take pictures of food or fruit specifically they capture the colours as fruit is traditionally bright. However in the photo on the opposite page Irving Penn has alternatively captured the shapes of the fruits. Usually this wouldn’t occur because you would be drawn to the colours. By taking the colours away from the photo you focus more on the tones and colours in the photo.
MY OWN INTERPRETATION OF IRVING PENN’S WORK As part of my own interpretation of Irving Penn’s work I constructed a photo shoot which involved the contents of my bag. When doing this there were multiple objects in my bag such as food,pencils, pens, keys and other objects. During the photo shoot I took various photos of the emptied bag as well as the individual objects in the bag. I took various photos of my watch. Using different camera settings I created an effect using the slow shutter speed. I made it look as if there was two watched. As you can see there is a bigger circled shape. This effect was created my rigidly moving the camera far away from the object. I decided to put the sepia edit on the watch so that the lack of colour made the photo look old and antique like the watch itself. In relation to the photo shoot itself I took the photos inside, due to the natural light the photos appeared quite dark in colour. In some of the photos I enhanced the flash.
IRVING PENN |Interpretation|
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ere is my interpretation of Irving Penn’s work. For this particular photo shoot I emptied out the content of my bag and photographed the objects inside. The items consisted of various objects such as a water bottle a wallet, pens and keys. I found this photo shoot quite difficult because I found it hard to be individual with my ideas. In addition I found it challenging to display the objects in an interesting way. I decided to make some of the photos black and white because I realised when taking the photos there was lots of clashing colours. By making the photos black and white this also shows my own individual ideas in relation to Irving Penn’s photos.
In relation to displaying the photos I have tried to be as creative as possible by presenting various sections of the photos. I used techniques such as cropping an rotating to make the layout of the page vary. During this photo shoot I experimented with the camera and how different angles can add more depth to and image. As well as this I varied how I used the focus for example in the large photo to the left that is black and white I have captured the bottle in focus. As you can see in the foreground the bottle ins in focus and the background is out of focus. I think this works quite well because there were multiple objects in the photos and this can often make the photo appear chaotic. By focusing in on one object it creates an interesting composition. I think I have created an alternative interpretation in relation to Irving Penn’s work. By taking photos of the objects in my bag you can see that I have created a link from his work. Because the objects were all different colours, when editing the photos in camera raw I made the contrast lower. My favourite image from the collection on the page is of the head phones. I think this photo is interesting because the background is in focus and the foreground isn’t. When taking the photo I held the camera at the height of the table meaning that I captured the headphones at a low angle. In more of my photo shoots through out my magazine I want to be more experimental with the angles that I hold the camera. As a result of this I hope to take photos that are unique in the way that they have been taken. Working on my camera skills is something I want to improve on by the end of the project.
MY OWN INTERPRETATION OF STEPHAN GILL
Here I have created an interpretation of Stephan Gill’s photo based on the girl in bed covered by flowers. I did this by taking photos of my model in bed. I then scanned some old flowers into the scanner and then layered them on top of the image as if they were on top of her. When taking the photos I tried to experiment with different angles of the model to show a variety. When editing the photos of my model I also changed the photo above into black and white as the black and white will contrast with the pink coloured flowers. I feel
as if I have incorporated Stephen Gills idea in my photos however I have displayed it in a different way. In his photo he used more flowers on top of the girl where as I have used only three. I think that this relates to flaws and perfections as the flowers are old an have started to die they show imperfection. I came up with the idea of using old flowers to represent imperfections against the model. I think the scanning works well as it makes the flowers look as realistic as possible. It also allows you to capture small intricate details of the flower such as the petals
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he following page consist of a class photo shoot based on paper. The aim of this photo shoot was to capture the paper against a white background. I found this photo shoot difficult because there was little to work with. When taking the photos we set up a studio set up. This consisted of a white background. When taking the photos the aim was to capture shadows that the paper had made. Here I have selected some of the photos that I think best represent what I did throughout the photo-shoot. Because the background and the paper were both white it was difficult to see when the paper was in focus during
the photo shoot. As a result I used manual focus when taking the photos. After I had taken the photos I used camera raw to edit them. Using camera raw I edited them by putting a black and white edit on the photos. I think this works well because you can see the shadows that the paper created. As well as this you can see the creases is the paper that I created. I also made the contrast higher and the saturation lower so you can see a range of grey tones in the photos,
TECHNIQUES Cropping
When cropping a photograph you highlight different parts of the image by taking away the surrounding content of the image. For example if you have a picture of a face and you crop it to just the eye you can take away the rest of the face. Cropping is effective because it shows different perspectives of the image. The image can appear different the closer or further away it is placed within the frame. On the following page you can see that I have displayed a selection of edits. Each edit appears different in the fact hat it shows the image in a different way. When cropping a photo you can also highlight key features. The cropping technique that I like the most on the page is the top right of the left page. I like this type of crop because it shows the face still however not in its whole form. In the rest of my work I plan to use more cropping techniques to show specific features in my photo.
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he following page shows rotation. As you can see I have rotated various images from one of my first photo-shoots based on perfections. By rotating an image you gain a different perspective of the image as you’re looking at it from a different angle. There are different ways in which you can rotate and image. Below you can see I have rotated the photo both vertically and horizontally creating a mirrored effect. This technique works well when trying to distort an image in some way. This is relative to the theme of flaws as the distortion can bee seen as a flaw. I would like to use this idea further through out more of my photo shoots as it creates an interesting effect on the images, by showing
TECHNIQUES Rotation
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The action of rotating about an axis or centre
I think that using different shapes works quite well also as you can see above it looks like there is more than one Barbie however it is the same photo just it has been duplicated and rotated. I like this technique and want to use it in more of my photo shoots. To develop this idea I could possibly try out various shapes and rotate them. By doing this I will be able to trial what works well in relation to my final design. When rotating image you can create small designs, by putting these together I might trial a final piece idea. My favourite rotation is where its a square I think this is effective because in the middle all the photos match up. Much like the photo on the opposing page.
Here I have shown repetition using some of my own images. I think using repetition is effective because you’re using the same images but you’re displaying them in a different way. The idea of repeating images can also be done using different shapes and sized images.
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iro Yoshihara is considered the artist who created the richest body of painting in Japanese art of the 20th century and is wellknown for the ‘circle’ paintings of his later years. He is well known for his photograph of the circle. The circle is a fundamental sign that is recognised by most people. Along with a group of collective of artists in postwar Japan known as Gutai. Jiro created an artistic group. Founded in 1954 by Jiro Yoshihara, the group renegotiated the borders of art, incorporating performance, installation and even the natural environment into their creations. During the 1920s and 1930s, Yoshihara was attracted to the work of Giorgio de Chirico, Joan Miró, and Wassily Kandinsky. In 1934, Yoshihara’s first exhibition was taken place at the Nika-kai’s annual show. During the 1930s, Yoshihara works were created in a surrealist manner that was popular among Japanese avant-garde artists. Gradually, Yoshihara gained his interest in geometric abstraction. Yoshihara worked on the paintings of circles in his late career and was inspired by the Zen tradition. The paintings were done with acrylic paint. I personally like his work because it is simplistic. Sometime when a painting of photo is simple in basic it can be less appealing or effective. However I think Jiro Yoshihara’s work is more than just a circle. It has more of a symbolic meaning. I would like to create my own interpretation of his work, this could include painting of a piece of white paper a simple shape shuch as a circle or square and photographing it against different backgrounds. I like the idea of using black paint and letting it drip down the page. In my next photo-shoot I will create my own interpretation of Yoshiharas work.
Jiro Yoshihara
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enjoyed doing the ink photo shoot based on Jiro Yoshiharas ink photo. At first I thought that the photo shoot was going to be boring but then I became to realise that you can be creative in the way you take the photos. The following page consists of what I believe to be an interpretation of Yoshiharas work. I decided to be experimental in this photo shoot and I think in the end I achieved some good results. I think the idea is a simple concept of ink and paper but can be made into so much more depending on how creative you’re willing to be. In the photo shoot I used a white and a black background to take the photos as I wanted to see what worked well. When editing the photos I also made the contrast higher which as a result made the black ink look more bold. I also changed some of my photos into black and white. When taking the photos I tried to capture a variety of angles by moving around with the camera as well as moving the paper. I think the photos show imperfections as well as perfections because I have realised that something doesn’t have to be intricate and exact to be perfect Much like the circles in this case.
f/ 4.5 ISO 400 1/160
On the following page I have chosen three different techniques that I think relate to flaws and perfections. The first technique to the left is of a face that has been printed and the scrunched up. I like this technique because it distorts the face and make the face appear obscure. The edit also works well on a white background. I would like to include this idea in my final piece by creating something similar with my own photos. The crinkled effect that the edit creates works well and also would relate to flaws because of the way the face has changed. The second idea for a manual technique is the burning effect. I like this idea as you cannot see the face because of the burn mark. I would like to try this idea in my next photoshoot. By burning holes in the image certain parts of the image become less visible. I think the burning worked well in the photo below as it almost looks like her brain has exploded because of the burn mark. As a result of the burn you can no longer see any of the face. The last idea is the photo to the right. I think this photo links to flaws and perfections as the writing across the photo juxtaposes the photo. The reason for this is the girl is happy and the word says ‘Depressed’ This shows a flaw because she is hiding the fact she is depressed by laughing. This relates to the fact that people hide their flaws. I like way the photo covers her eyes as-well. When you can see peoples eyes they can show emotion an because you can’t see her eyes you cant see her emotion. The black and white edit is also effective because the lack of colour means the message is portrayed. I would like to create my own interpretation of this photo in relation to my work. I will do this in my next photo shoot which will focus on flaws and perfections.
M a n u a l Te c h n i q u e s
PHOBIAS AS FLAWS
‘Claustrophobia By Alban Grosdidier’
Here I have chosen photographs taken by Alban Grosdidier. . The series of photos relate to the theme of claustrophobia. This related to flaws as a flaw can be describe as a blemish or mark. In addition to this when people have a fear or phobia it can make them seem weak. Fears and phobias can be interpreted as weaknesses. If someone has a phobia like claustrophobia they’re scared of small compact spaces. The water covering the faces of the people makes their identity less obvious. As you can see from the images on the opposing page the people have different expressions. Despite the reaction of the person I think you automatically sympathise with the person because its as if they’re drowning. Even though the clarity of the water is high and you can see through it is almost as if the water is suffocating the person. As you can see some of the models look tranquil in the water and others look as if they’re gasping for breath and trying to escape. I have interpreted this as some people are staying under the water and tackling their fear and others feel as if it is too much and want to escape the water.
I relation to the photos themselves I like that the photos are black and white. I think this looks effective because the photos don’t need colour. The lack of colour complements the faces of the people because you’re drawn to the facial expressions of the people. The shapes of the photographs appear distorted because the people are in water and the black and white edit makes you focus more on the shapes and lines in the photo. In relation to my own work I would like to create an interpretation of this series of photos. I would like to have my model in a bath and experiment with different angles and perspectives. I may also incorporate objects into the photo-shoot which could juxtapose flaws. If I found an object that symbolises perfection I will be able to relate my work to the theme of f flaws and perfections. By using different objects I can experiment with the theme and create different interpretations of Alban Grosdidier’s photos. Although the black and white edit works well in my own work I’m going to explore the idea of using colour. This might create interesting photos because of the effect on the water.
Fears and phobias as flaws - My own interpretation
Here I have created my own interpretation of Alban Grosdidiers photos. Similar to him the setting of my photo-shoot was a bath. I asked my model to go under the water and hold her breath as I captured this. At first it was difficult to capture photos that were in focus because of the movement that was created under water. However I took more photos I made sure that I held the camera as still as possible when taking the photos. When taking the angles I stood over my model creating a birds eye view of her in the bath tub. If I were to develop this idea I could possible incorporate objects or further another person into my photo-shoot. I would also like to create my own manual edits of these photos which could include cutting, slicing and manipulating the photos.
By developing this idea I could further relate my photos to flaws and perfections . I would like to surround the models with certain objects t o relate to the theme of claustrophobia. I think the theme works in relation to this photo-shoot because she is almost suffocated by the water. When editing the photos I made the clarity higher so you can see through the water. I also made the photos lighter in places to emphasise the white background of the bath tub. When looking at the compositions of the photos I wanted to keep my model quite central in the middle as she is the main focal point of the photo-shoot. When I do a development of this idea in a re shoot I plan to create more adventurous angles such as close up and extreme close up shots as well as side views.
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Extreme or irrational fear of confined places Claustrophobia
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Development I decided to develop the idea of my incorporating flowers into the photos of my submerged model. My first photo shoot was simply an interpretation of Alban Grosdidier’s photos. Here I have incorporated my own ideas by using the flowers. As you can see my model is still underwater however here I have tried to capture the transitioning phases from the surface of the water, to being fully submerged underneath. The reason I decided to use the flowers was because they symbolise perfection and against the flaw being the girls phobia. When taking the photos for this photo shoot I decided to take more portraits shots where as when I first took the photos I took multiple landscape shots. When editing the photos I enhanced the contrast and brightness to make the flowers appear bold. In addition I also made the clarity higher because this way you can see the ripples in the water as they wash over the face of the model. When taking the photos I used the flash. As you can see it had an effect on the water, it created a reflective effect.
Here I have built on the idea of claustrophobia and flaws. I have worked on creating a series of photos that link both flaws and perfections in relation to artist Alban Grosdider. I found his photos unique and interesting and wanted to create my own photos in his style. The photos on the following page show how I developed on the idea by including objects such as flowers. In developing the idea I also wanted to experiment with different angles of my photos such as close up and extreme close up shots. As well as being experimental with the angles I wanted to also develop the compositions and make them more varied. I think the close up shots work well as they show different parts of the photo that you wouldn’t necessarily see if the shot was from further away. In relation to the theme I think i have successfully built on the idea of claustrophobia as a flaw. As you can see from the photos on the opposing page the model looks more relaxed in the photos. I wanted to highlight the fact that she looks more tranquil as if shes coming to terms with the fear. I asked my model to look more calm and relaxed under the water and not to look panicked. I think this is obvious from the photos as her expression looks calm. I would like to create some manual techniques from this photo shoot to continue to develop this idea. I would also like to do another photo shoot where I have another model. This could show one model looking relaxed and one looking panicked as they are both submerged. As well as this i would like to try to use other objects other than flowers.
Here I have used photos from my recent photo shoot based on claustrophobia. I used the photos and created my own manual edits by burning the photos. This relates to flaws as the photos look imperfect due to the burn marks on top of the images. This shows development of my idea because I have used my photos to create further edits. When burning the photos I had to be careful where I burned them because so they didn’t catch fire. I also had to make sure that I didn’t burn the whole image. At first it was difficult to burn the photos and I found that some of my images accidentally caught fire as I over burned them. Once I had burned the images I re photographed them against different backgrounds and created different edits using camera raw. My favourite image is the image on the opposing page. In order to create this image i place the burned photograph on a window in my house and as you can see from this you can see what is out the window through the burned hole in the photo. I would like to do a re-shoot of these photos using coloured images. I think this would create a different but interesting effect. I would also like to use this idea in my final piece.
‘Claustrophobia in relation to flaws’
H
ere I have developed the idea of flaws in relation to claustrophobia. I from my previous photo shoot I experimented with the idea of having my model submerged under the water. I believe I have developed the idea because i have now built on the idea by using two people. When taking the photos I had to make sure that i held the camera as still as possible so I could capture the water and the bubbles that the models created. What I decided to do differently with this photo shoot was to be more experimental with the angles in which i took the photos. My idea was to make my models look as if they’re trapped in the bath . By using two people in the bath it looks as if they’re squished into a small space. This relates to flaws because their phobia is there flaw. When taking the photos i tried to take more extreme close up shots. I have continued with the theme and have edited some of my photos in black and white. When I edited the photos I made the clarity higher because which as a result made the water clearer. I think this photo shoot is an improvement from my first photo shoot because it relates more to the theme of claustrophobia. I intend to use these photos in my final piece. I plan to combined the photos with materials and create manual edits of the photos by slicing cutting and manipulating the photos. By doing this I can continue to relate my work to the theme of claustrophobia.
Claustrophobia The following page is in relation to my chosen sub theme of claustrophobia. I have related my work to this theme as people have phobias and they can be seen as flaws because a phobia involves being scared of something. The idea that the two girls are in a compact space shows that they are trapped and enclosed in some way. By not showing their faces their identity is unknown. I purposely asked my models to blow bubbles when they were under the water so their faces couldn’t be seen. When taking the photos I used the flash for some of the images and didn’t for others. By using the flash the light reflected on the water and created interesting reflections. In addition when editing the photos i made the clarity and contrast higher which made the water look even clearer. I will be using some of these photos for my final piece. I would like to however use manual edits on top of my photos to further enhance the theme of flaws and perfections. I will create some manual techniques and display them as a possible idea.
Possible Ideas
Photo shoot Plan and evaluation The main aim of this photo shoot was to create an interpretation of
Photo shoot plan and Evaluation
The main aim of the photo shoot was to capture natural flaws that are around us. Inspired by Aaron Siskind I decided to take photos ofbuildings which had graffiti on them and that were a flaw in some way. During the photo shoot i wanted to capture a variety of photos from different angles and perspectives. Furthermore the aim of the photo-shoot was to show an interpretation of Aaron Siskinds photos not a direct copy. The date of the photo shoot was the 5th April 2015. The light source that was used in this photo shoot was natural light from the sun. This is because i did the photo shoot outside on a sunny day. I think this benefited
the photos because there were few shadows as the light was natural. My idea for this photo shoot was to look for buildings that had pealing paint or graffiti on them. This made my photo shoot quite spontaneous because i didn’t know what i was going to find and photograph. I used a range of shutter speed and apertures when taking the photos and the ranges go from 1/180 1/850. The aperture setting on the camera ranged form 2.4- 2.8. The ISO camera setting ranged from 5080. In relation to a re-shoot of this photo-shoot I would like to capture more images of different buildings from a further perspective. If i did this I could further relate my work to flaws on a larger scale.