SW - Urban Environment - Candidate Number 3143 - 46725

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Urban Environment - SOPHIE WARD / GSCE PHOTOGRAPHY

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COMPONENT 1

COMPONENT 2

Personal projects : Urban Environment An urban area is the region surrounding a city. Most inhabitants of urban areas have nonagricultural jobs. Urban areas are very developed, meaning there is a density of human structures such as houses, commercial buildings, roads, bridges, and railways. "Urban area" can refer to towns, cities, and suburbs.

" The jarring change going from an urban environment to an extremely remote natural environment is extremely inspiring. It's constantly stimulating, it's like a slap in the face." ~ Carter Burwell " There's an aesthetic theme, which is cities at two o'clock in the morning. Not cities packed with people going out to clubs and dancing but desolate, empty streets. It's off-putting but there's a strange comfort to it as well, that desolate urban environment." ~ Moby

Initial research

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Initial Artists

Artist Investigation/ Berenice Abbott

“I think the important decision for a photographer is to choose a subject that intensely interests him or her.” -Berenice Abbott My first chosen artist research photographer is Berenice Abbott, she was an American photographer best known for her NYC photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s. She usually shoots her picture from quite a far distance away so she can capture the urban landscapes and buildings slowly merging into the distance. All her images are in black and white as she was popular in the 1930s onwards meaning she didn't have access to cameras with colour. Giving her images a very old fashioned worn down feel. The photos sometimes contain people and everyday life drawing attention to the different aspects of urban life. From the mundane aspects to the architecture and nature surrounding. POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

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To emulate her work I would venture out to a city setting in daytime light and capture different types of buildings and landscapes. I would also capture people and everyday life to vary the focal points of the pictures like Berenice. I would shoot in black and white from a quite far back distance from the setting I want to capture to emulate the technique of hers where she capture lots of different landscapes fading into the distance showing the beauty of life around us Her photography conveys a very calm environment through the monotone colours and the quiet surrounding area, which maybe contains a few people and the beautiful architecture. Creating the calm setting as its not crowded and you get to visually enjoy the picture without having too much to view. I chose Berenice as one of my chosen photographers as I love the concepts of her images and how they differ from the others, and give quite a old fashioned feel. Which I think really adds to the feel of her photos.

Semi Analysis/ Berenice Abbott This chosen photo from the photographer Berenice Abbott is called Pike and Henry Street I have chosen to analyse this photo in depth because it links really well to my study of Urban Environment and as she works in the theme of architecture her main area of expertise. The main props I can identify throughout the image are people, cars, lampposts, buildings, a bridge residing in the background and many more cluttered bits of street décor. The composition of this photo displays the two rows of buildings parallel to the centre of the image where the people and other aspects of urban life are identified. This is also where one of the main aspects to the photo is the bridge in the background which has slowly faded due to light conditions and the depth of field. The rule of thirds has not been used within the image as in the left hand side is more visible and takes up more of the area within the photo whereas the right hand side is less visible. With the composition of the photo and the perspective being at an eye view angle the viewers eyes are first drawn to the buildings that line the sides and you can slowly make your way down to the bridge. She employs a range of visual elements, the most striking elements she displays within her work are tone, texture and space. The tones are very enhanced and are what make her work stand out, as it's in black and white the tones are more prominent and more in depth. They also create more shadows narrowing the buildings more. This also enhances the texture within the image and the realism, as most images are quite flat and plain but this image is full of texture and things to observe, the positioning of the buildings also contributes to this. The spacing is also one of the main factors as she has taken the image with this strategically placed visual space to enhance the path POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

to the focal point being the faded bridge. As the space is only narrow also it further contributes to the impact fullness of the focal point. 3/26

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It has been taken from a long distance to create the blurred illusions with the light, and to create the more shaded in depth effect with the closer up buildings. This effect has been created so the focal point will stand out more with its blurred lighter features. Berenice has taken it at this angle so the bridge is strategically placed in the middle ground of the photo, further provides focus on the bridge. This also creates leading lines within the image from the use of the buildings and the shadowing. She had taken the photo outside using natural lighting which is why the in depth shadowing is created and the bridge is less visible due to the exposure of light within that area. The light source is facing the left hand side of the image producing additional texture and shadowing on the left hand side. This makes me feel like it is more a calm daily life image taken early in the morning, the lack of people on the streets and the sun positioned slightly lower causing shadows, creating an overall calmer more mellow atmosphere. To emulate this photo myself I would take a picture of a street in which there are taller buildings so I can create the leading lines effect. I would shoot in a deeper depth of field from f/11 to f/22 to get the shaper more in depth buildings in capture and shoot in the sepia setting to get the older more worn out look for this image. I might also use a tripod to get a steadier picture.

Shoot Plan/ Berenice Abbott I have drawn inspiration from Berenice Abbott because I really like the old fashioned black and white look of her work and her urban picture style really fits in with my theme. I especially took inspiration from her Pike and Henry street image as I really like the way the leading lines are presented to the focal point. I plan for the shoot to take place in Preston City Centre as there lots of buildings and symmetry to capture, there is also lots of geometrical styled buildings and structured that I can also use to emulate her image style further. The only props I will be using is my DLSR camera and use the overall environment to get the images I want. The lighting conditions I will require are the natural lighting to be bright so I will intend to shoot about mid day in high-key lighting. If I shoot mid-day the overall image will be evenly lit and create the brighter effect. I also might experiment using the tripod so I can capture the buildings in more depth and so the camera will be sturdier and easy to use but if not I will free hand it using a normal shutter speed of 1/60 so I can take them easier. For my aperture I will probably be using a larger aperture such as f/22 to have a larger depth of field to capture more. Following my shoot I will further improve my shoot by editing some of my best images on the online editing software Pixlr to enhance different technical aspects such as the lighting and shadows.

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Contact sheet/ Berenice Abbott

Edit example/ Berenice Abbott

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4 best edited images/ Berenice Abbott

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Best edited image/ Berenice Abbott Overall this is my best edited image as I feel it fits and looks the style of Berenices work the most. I personally really like the slight graininess of the image and how the worn textures of the building really add to the older style image look. I think the strengths of this image are the quality and how it really fits my urban environment theme, I really like how I've edited the picture also and how creating a warmer temperature to the photo makes a big difference to the overall image. o improve I would maybe next time use a tripod to create T better perspective image at a straighter angle to capture the whole building. I would also take the picture in brighter lighting maybe on a sunnier day so the natural highlights and shadows to the image create a better quality of image. When editing this image I adjusted the shadows, highlights and tint to create more depth in the image and to also create the sky brighter. So the buildings will contrast better against the lighter background. When I adjusted the tint I created a warmer toned image so its less harsh as Berenices tend to have more of a sepia tone.

Artist Investigation/ Saul Leiter

"I go out to take a walk, I see something, I take a picture. I take photographs. I have avoided profound explanations of what I do." ~ Saul Leiter "There are the things that are out in the open and then there are the things that are hidden, and life has more to do, the real world has more to do with what is hidden, maybe. You think?" ~ Saul Leiter Saul Leiter was an artist in New York city after he left theology school at 23 years old, he then went on to start experimenting with shooting in colour from where he became

very

famous

urban

environment

photographer. Saul has a very varied range of photography including his window shots, and his many different urban shoots. He captures the essence of everyday life and his photography is very natural and captures it in the moment. Most of his images have a blurry aspect to them adding to the natural feel of his photos showing he doesn't use a tripod and uses his camera at any given POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

moment to capture the life around him. 7/26

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To emulate his photography I would go into a busy city setting with lots going on and lots to capture. I would take pictures of the different settings around me and people to capture all forms of settings and events happening within the urban setting. I would then go on to edit the images to create more of a old fashioned haze. I have chosen Saul as one of my favourite chosen photographers as I like all the elements within his work from the emotions it conveys and all the different types of urban elements. From the way he varies his area of photography.

In my opinion most of his work displays quite lonely elements to it, as mixing people and urban environments it usually gives a very busy looking photo where as Saul's work usually includes at the most 1 or 2 people within the urban environment making the picture very lonely and isolated leaving us to focus on the environment and the emotive factors.

Semi Analysis/ Saul Leiter Another one of my chosen photographers and the creator of this piece is called Saul Leiter the photo of his I have chosen to analyse in depth is named straw hat .The genre in which this photo is in and which Saul works in is architecture one of his main running themes throughout his work, there are many props I can identify throughout the image such as the taxi, the two cars slightly behind it, a man walking across the road, and some form of building ahead of him. The composition of the photo displays the man in the middle ground of the image walking towards the left hand side of the photo. Behind him is placed a taxi and some cars scattered in the background of the image. All these factors indicate the rule of thirds which has been used aligning the man with the middle and the other props working correspondingly to the rule. Henceforth the viewers eye is lead around to all the elements of the image and brought back to the man because of the composition Saul has applied. Another main element that contributes to the overall strength and skill of the photo is the perspective. Saul has used an at eye view to take the photo. Creating an impactful look as it feels as it adds to the realism of the photo as the man was simply walking and getting on with is day as Saul shot the image making it very natural. He employs a range of impactful elements some of his main ones being tone/ colour and line. As the image displays a slightly dark faded lighting contributing the overall moodiness of the photo, and the bright colours of the taxi and the walls contrasting with the shadowing and darkness of the image and the dark suit the man is wearing. The element of line is additionally a main factor as we see it everywhere framing the photo from the lines POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

of the poles on the wall to lines on the road and on the cars, also 8/26

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creating texture within the photo and pulling the composition of the image together. This photo has been taken from a long distance to capture the main props within the photo and to capture certain areas of colour and the mans certain position, you can also identify that the image has been slightly cropped removing the end of the cars residing in the background. This is impactful to the image as it creates a greater focus on the taxi and the man the main focal points of the image. These props have been strategically placed in the middle ground so you are even more drawn to what the photographer wants the viewer to focus on, the first elements they want them to discover so they can then be lead around the other elements within the photo and discover the more imbedded features. Such as the lighting which has being taken using natural lighting which can be identified through the darker light showing it was a later time of day when the image was taken additionally shown within the tones and the shadows that can be seen. This creates a darker moody atmosphere as the darker tones reflects on the overall aura creating a story and many possibility's as to the mans life and what he was doing and where he was going diving into this deeper meaning of photography. To emulate this photograph I would venture out into a city environment and simply capture people living their everyday lives while crossing roads and walking about also emulating his style of work just capturing images without thinking making it as natural as possible. I would just take my camera and go out on a darker lit day to emulate it even further. I feel this image conveys a natural sort of stress, like the reality's of everyday lives and how everyone has a different story and are going different place to do different things. Plummeting into a deeper meaning of photography and how it always conveys a different message or feeling. This is relevant to my theme as most urban environment photographers just want to capture the beauty of the architecture and life but contrastingly this conveys a deeper meaning and emotion of life showing the contrasts of the beauty of life and the deeper meanings.

Shoot Plan/ Saul Leiter I have drawn inspiration from Saul Leiter's urban city photography and his use of everyday life and people to create his photos and the sort of old worn out look about them which I think is really unique. I plan for the shoot to take place in some sort of city centre where there's lots of shops and windows for me to capture everyday life through different perspectives. This will also be shot in the daytime like Saul Leiters images so I can encapture people out and about which wouldn't be in his style and would be harder to achieve at night. The props I intend to use are simply my camera and my surroundings such as the buildings and people to emulate his style. The lighting conditions I require are in the day time but slightly darker so I can get my intended effects using natural lighting. I don't need any specific lit areas as its more of a natural shoot just capturing what around through windows and on the streets. I am going to be shooting using my DSLR camera and maybe bits on my smartphone if I'm out in a scenery I think will fit well. I will shoot with an average shutter speed as I'm not looking for any special effects and a small depth of field to get certain details in more focus and the rest background detail. Following the shoot I plan to digitally edit my images using Pixlr the online editing site to tweak anything I want and overall improve my images. POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

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Contact sheet/ Saul Leiter

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4 best edited images/ Saul Leiter

Editing this image I tried to make it look a little bit more worn out

For this image I decided to play around a little bit more with

and older. So I increased the temperature of the image creating a warmer image and adjusted other aspects such as the shadows and exposure to make the image more grainy and old.

different filtrations and colourings to create a colder image using the effects library, on Pixlr I selected the urban sections and messed around with a few different colourings to create this.

I decided for his image to make it look a little bit more like one of his monocromatic image adjusting different aspects to create an over all darker look to the picture. I also used a small amount of

I liked this image and decided to edit it due to the motion already prominent within the picture similar to some of Saul's other photos, I ran with the idea adjusting the shadows and

the vignette tool to create a more darker finish.

highlights, not really changing much as I already liked the effect.

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Best edited image/ Saul Leiter Overall this was my favourite best edited image as I feel it fits the urban, grungy style of Saul's work the most and I just really like the overall look of the photo. The editing process really enhanced the image creating a more grainy old look like Saul's work, creating a successful outcome. To improve further I would probably wait until it was a darker setting to take the picture to create further emotion within the photo and more of an edginess to the vibe of it. Next time I would probably also use a tripod to create a more level even image.

Artist Investigation/ Pedro Correa

"Only in urban landscape photography (and even more in street photography) does the “decisive moment” take its real meaning. I really love the fact that I have to be 100% alert all the time to what surrounds me, that if I blink I can miss a moment of grace and beauty that was standing just next to me." -Pedro Correa Pedro is a fine art photographer from Spain after graduating from oil painting and comic art he changed his career path. I find Pedro's works very emotive and filled with energy he is one of my favourite urban photographers so far and I love his style of work. His photos are filled with the elements of line, texture and colour, which differs him from the others as the elements in his work are really distinctive and make him stand out. To emulate his different areas of photography I would shoot on a cold day where windows fog and streak due to condensation. As that is one of his main areas of photography creating an abstract urban piece. Pedro also does reflective shoots using windows and bystanders going on with their day to capture all the

different elements of urban environment. If I were to emulate this kind of style I would go out into an area with shops and take pictures of the different urban 12/26

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landscapes and life through the window. I like how his picture convey a very upbeat positive emotion through his use of bright colours and lighter setting, but how some also convey a calm setting within the scene but all the bright energetic colour surrounding drives us away from that, so when you look deeper into the picture you can really capture all the elements.

Semi Analysis/ Pedro Correa My chosen photographer to complete a semi analysis is called Pedro Correa the piece I have chosen to analyse is called Espresso Bar. The genre of this photo is architecture linking to my Urban life project. The props I can identify in this image are a bright lit sign in the window of a steamed up glass window with people socialising inside blurred slightly due to the steam. Pedro ( the photographer) uses the 7 visual elements of art in his photography. Personally I believe the strongest displayed elements are colour, texture and shape. Saul uses colour skilfully from the way the sign creates red highlights with in the picture and the way the inside light is slightly hazy. Creating a calm yet exciting picture through the different contrasts of light, concentration and colour. I can also detect that texture plays a big part in creating the atmosphere of the picture, through the way the fogged up glass is slightly streaky and the surrounding objects such as the brick wall creating all sorts of texture and elements to observe within the photo. Shape is additionally a very prominent factor within the piece creating all different kinds of figures behind the glass also adding to the atmosphere. The main focal point of this image is is the light and two of the figures, this is because the light creates a bright hazy highlight on the window illuminating the two figures behind the glass who are socialising. The people have been placed in the centre to draw more attention to them as the light shines on several people within the photo but because they are in the centre our eyes are directed to them. You can see the image has also been taken at a short distance implying the photographer doesn't want any excess background revealed and the the window image to be the only focus. The photo has been taken outside in a dark setting so the bright light stands out more illuminating the window where as in a day time setting this effect would be less impactful. To emulate this photo myself I would go outside in a city setting when its dark or night time and take pictures outside of illuminated shop windows. I would also do some research on places to go that are open late with neon signs or lighting to emulate the emotions within the pictures. I feel the photo conveys lost of different emotions and moods as the photo displays a calm setting there is also the bright lights adding energetic factors to the image. It visibly shows the calmer aspect throughout the silhouettes of the people on a

quiet night having a conversation but has this spark of energy throughout from the neon light bouncing around the window pane. This image is relevant to my theme as it conveys the ideas of urban environment I was also drawn to this piece as I love 13/26

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meaningful images and there is so much emotion and moods within this picture.

Artist Investigation/ Riccardo Magherini

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Steve Jobs (presented on Riccardo's website) Riccardo is a professional photographer and editor based in Florence Italy. He has received several international photography awards for his amazing urban photography. His work is filled with life and so many different aspects which is why I was really drawn to his photography and its uniqueness . Especially with his use of double exposure taking different shots of the same place at different times to create such a nice layered image. His images mostly include line and shape which are what really put together his images. To emulate his work I would go into a city environment and take shots of the same places at different times so when the people move and scenery changes I can use all the different shots to merge and create his work. I could also shoot in more natural environments which is a different side of his work it still includes structures and the elements of architecture but be within a different scenery and layer different angles of the image. His work shows the less calm picturesque side of the urban environment but the busy exciting side with all the people walking about doing things. Which is unique compared to a lot of other photographers as it is still aesthetic but in a completely different way

Semi Analysis/ Riccardo Magherini The photographer of this image is called Riccardo Magherini this image I have chosen to evaluate as my semi analysis is out of his

New York series (2014) and it is his first image of the collection. The genre of this photograph is architecture linking nicely to my Urban environment project. The different props/objects I can 14/26

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identify within this project are the buildings, people and cars there are also lots of city lights from windows and signs. The composition of this photo shows the buildings scattered all over the image there's no sense of order or specific placement from where they have taken it they are just captured as how they are. Then from the layered double exposure effect lights, people and cars are everywhere creating a sort of haze over the image from the lights and other layers objects. The rule of thirds hasn't been used here but there kind of a start of leading lines in-between the buildings slowly leading up. The viewers eyes are able to identify so many different aspects to view within the photo due to the composition he has used. Riccardo has used a slight worms eye view perspective but not completely he has his camera and overall view tilted towards the top of the buildings. From this he employs a range of visual elements within his work the main ones being shape and line standing out more than any. We can identify the use of line through the buildings and the geometric shapes that cover them due to windows also creating texture. Shape is more displayed through the layering and the little specks of lights and faded signs and buildings. The image has been taken from a long distance so all aspects of the city are included such as the floor/ crosswalks, the buildings and lights. The cars and the people moving around, none of which has been cropped so everything is included and visible making it very natural. This is so the main focal pints which are the buildings don't stand alone but have all these other aspects adding to the effect and the quality of the image. This image has been taking outside with a mixture of natural and artificial lighting coming off of the buildings signs and shops equally brightening the image, but as you slowly look up the buildings it gets progressively dimmer due to the cloudy darker sky. This creates a understanding of the city energy and how the business and the lights all add to the atmosphere of the image, as if it was just natural lighting used it would've had a completely different effect. To emulate this photograph myself I would shoot in a city environment where its busy and has a lot of artificial lighting to emulate the exciting city effect. I would probably use a tripod to keep stability and to make sure I'm shooting from about the same sort of spot and to get several different pictures of people moving.

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Buildings school shoot 1/ Contact sheet

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Buildings school shoot 2/ Contact sheet

Buildings school shoot 3/ Contact sheet

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Buildings shoot/ edits

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Composition Ideas Composition 1-

Composition 2-

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Composition 1 YouTube example:

Website example:

“My work is based on my surroundings, past and present. I'm motivated by things that move me, thrill me and anger me. I see a vast amount of space and I want to fill it with paint.”- Isidro Blasco

Composition 1 Techniques / Photographers For this composition I am going to be experimenting mixing the work of Isidro Blasco and my images from my Berenice Abbott shoot. Isidro's work is inspired me to mix my monochromatic images from my Berenice shoot and his sculptural curved pieces as I feel both styles work really well together. Also my Berenice Abbot shoot and the pictures he uses are quite similar in the sense they are very structural and urban. So I have edited my images in preparation for this so I can get a better look on the images and overall have a better outcome.

Composition 1 Shoot Plan / Physical Experiments Plan: F or this composition I will be making some small practice sculptures to display my skills and work from Berenice. I will be using mount board and some form of wooden sticks to act as a bond between pieces and to stand up and display my work. For this POWERED BY https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

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sculpture I will be recreating one of his more folded/ bent styles that fold in towards the viewer. To almost create a 3D style where the piece almost makes the images look stood out. I am going to cut sections of mount board in size to pieces of an image I use to them create the look I want.

Composition 1/ Practice creation Images

Firstly I edited my images I was planning to use for my composition so they would fit my theme better. I then got some mount board, a cutting board, a safety ruler and a craft knife, and got to work on cutting up my images into pieces to arrange them in the way I wanted.

After I had cut up my images I stuck individual pieces of my image onto mount board and used a craft knife to cute around the sections. I then went and hot glued the sections together to

I then chopped strips of the mount board so i could create some form of balance to present my little sculptures and present them

For final touches I cut up little bits of a spare image on mount

as a whole. So I arranged where the strips of mount board would fit together and hot glued them.

create a curved/ bent 3D type structure in style to Isidro's sculptural work.

board to create little extra segments so it would be a bit more abstract and then hot glued to rest of my sculptures down after arranging them. Then I took this picture on a black background.

Composition 1/ Final Outcome: Overall I found this project to be successful as I firstly did my small prototypes experimenting with the mount board and cutting and rearranging images to make a display with my small sculptures. I also really liked working in this sort of style of physical editing as I've experimented with different styles in the past such a sewing but I found this to have the most successful outcome. To improve I would make my work more neat by sublimating the images onto mountboard so I could have a neater finish.

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Composition 2 YouTube example:

Website example:

I was always interested in photography, as my father was a very passionate hobby photographer. But I became more interested at the age of 16, when I bought my first bridge camera with more flexibility, so I was experimenting a lot with different motives and techniques of post-production. -Stephanie Jung

Composition 2 Techniques / Photographers For this composition instead of physical editing I am going to be digitally editing some of my images in the style of rotational symmetry using my images inspired by Berenice Abbott. I will be creating abstract edited images using past skills I have learnt within my photography course to create a final piece with the images I have taken.

Composition 2 Shoot Plan / digital/physical Experiments Plan: To complete my composition 2 I am going to digitally edit my Berenice Abbott images using the online editing software Pixlr creating an array of different edits to display my knowledge in digital editing and display my work in a unique way. After having edited my images I will present them on some black card in a certain arrangement and take pictures to add to my website. I will also use some step by step images of how i edited some of my images.

Composition 2/ editing steps

Firstly I started by duplicating my original layer and flipping it horizontally so it would be mirrored to my first layer. I then arranged them so they would face next to each other and have equal sides.

I then grouped together the previous 2 images and duplicates it again. I created this layer as an overlay adjusting the opacity so it would be less visible against the first layer. I then moved that image to create a moving layer over the first one.

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After that I repeated the same steps duplicating and adjusting the opacity and moved this image upwards to create even more 'movement' within the image giving it a shaky effect.

Finally I grouped all the layers together and adjusted the tint and highlights to create a lighter more highlighted image as before some areas from previous edits where a little under exposed.

Composition 2/ 4 best edits

Composition 2/ Final outcome: Overall this composition was successful as I feel it really fit the style of Stephanie Jung's work really well, I like editing the image and working in her style for this composition as it was fun to edit and I learnt some new techniques. I found it to be successful also as I previously worked in this style and used some of my past techniques to display further results in my work. The only thing I would say I could improve further or try in the future is to edit them further and really play around in lots of different techniques to show further development in my work.

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Composition 2/ Final outcome:

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Urban Environment - SOPHIE WARD / GSCE PHOTOGRAPHY

Urban Environment/ Final Outcome Throughout the project of Urban Environment I have developed my comprehension for the subject and skills within the curriculum even further. I have progressed learning techniques such as Rotational symmetry, physical editing using mount board, and different photographical approaches like the fish eye lens and worms eye view. Furthermore I have learnt to apply my ideas further creating compositions using techniques I have learnt and mixing photographers I have researched. Initially I started my research based upon the Photographer Berenice Abbott her main technique consisted of Black and White photography and the overall old fashion style to it. I was initially drawn to her style of work whilst researching different photographers as I loved her monochrome old looking photos and was eager to emulate and work in her style. Through studying and examining this photographers work I was able to explore professionally the elements of line, tone, pattern and texture within her her work. Using buildings, and the textures and patterns within them to emulate and create photography using technical skills I have obtained throughout my projects. Inspired and influenced by her work I created a series of emulations of my own similar to her style of photography. I would personally go to different city environments and sculptures to capture different perspectives of buildings. The pictures I took where over a stretch of weeks when I would go to different cities such as London, Burnley and Preston. To achieve the images I did I would take the images in a mid day setting when the sky was still bright, to emulate her day time style and to create more depth within my images with the bright lighting to create more shadows and emphasise the patterns and textures within the sculptures. I would take my images using lots of different perspectives such as Worms eye view, Birds eye view, and a straight on view, using a large depth of field to capture all the city landscape and to get the most satisfactory in detail images. Throughout my shooting, I would capture my images in the monotone setting of my DSLR camera to stay within her old fashioned black and white style. Creating the best results possible I used the online editing software Pixlr on the advanced setting to tweak and edit my images to develop more older worn out images. Her work really contributed to my research within the Urban Environment photography field as I was able to explore different perspectives and get to work in black and white exploring how to adjust to working in different colouring and how to get the best results.

Throughout my project I also in depth researched the work of Saul Leiter, a unique photographer whom I really learned to love working in his style. I was drawn to his unique style of urban photography, not only incorporating the buildings but the environment and people creating emotion and a sense of normality to his images, displaying every day life. Within exploring and studying him and his photography I got to work more with using the elements of colour and movement. Two elements I rarely get to work with much so I was excited to explore his work further, and create my own images experimenting with the use of colour and tones to create emotion in my photography. Also the use of movement to display normality and everyday life within my images. Inspired by his work I created a load of emulations in his style incorporating some of my own techniques and processes. For this shoot instead of venturing to big areas I stayed around my home town and the urban bits within my area I knew I could capture and use to emulate his work. I first started shooting in darker lighting, as most of his images have a slightly darker hue to them creating a sort of edginess to them. I would take my shoots out of car windows and down alleyways capturing everyday and natural movement in my images. Mostly I captured my images at a straight angle using my DSLR camera, I used a large depth of field again similar to my last shoot so again I could capture all the different textures and details fully. To further enhance my images I used the online editing software Pixlr again playing around with the colouring of the image and adjusting other aspects along the way such as the highlights/shadows and the temperature of the image to create a final outcome I was happy with and looked similar to the style I was working in. Overall I think my research in Saul Leiters work was beneficial to my knowledge of Urban Photography and how you can use other aspects such as people and other surrounding things to enhance an image to create a more Urban natural image. I then went on to research Riccardo Magherini who also works in a very unique style using digital editing to create a layered effect to his work. I was drawn to his work due to his use of digital editing as I hadn't seen many other photographer that had worked in such a style so I wanted to explore his work further and the techniques he used. I didnt do a shoot surrounding his work but it was a learning experience to research his techniques. Riccardo works in very busy city environments with lots of often movement for him to capture. He sets a tripod up and takes shots of the same select area at different times, to layer the images and create movement and almost a distorted look to his images, which is an aspect I really like. This inspired me further and I based one of my compositions around my initial interest towards his techniques and work and his techniques. I really liked researching his work and learning further about different techniques, I also think his project works really well with my Urban Environment project and I'm excited to learn more about digital editing and how I can use it within all different types of photography. Finally I created my two compositions based off two wonderful photographers who use physical/ digital editing to create their work. My first composition was based off Isidro Blasco and his sculptural pieces he creates using his Urban photography. He uses boards to present his cut up pieces of work and presents them in distorted order or even by putting them back together creating amazing POWERED BY pieces. I enjoyed working in his style as it taught me more about physical editing and how you can further enhance work and pieces https://sophiewgcsephotographypghs.weebly.com/urban-environment.html

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23/05/2022, 11:27

Urban Environment - SOPHIE WARD / GSCE PHOTOGRAPHY

you create to make them even better. The second Artist I based my second composition off was Stephanie Jung, very similar to Riccardo Magherini she digitally layers images and creates almost movement within them with her layers and rotation of layers. I really liked working in her style and just playing around with the different layers of overlays moving them creating motion within my edits, I thought that composition ended really successfully and I learnt a new skill working with the craft knife I used and the mount board arranging my different sculptures. My most successful points throughout this projects was my improvement in editing and shoots as I believe I have really progressed in my creativity within my shoots using my own ideas to create better and better images. I also started working in lost of new different perspectives which what also helped me improve thinking more about my placement and cameras point of view whilst capturing images. Furthermore my editing skills have increased as I am able to confidently adjust simple features to my liking and using more complex out of the box features to enhance my images. I think one of my weaker spots within this projects was probably the physical editing, as much as it was big learning experience and I was able to gather lots of new skills, I believe I could achieve to improve more in those areas creating more complex sculptures and better ideas.

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SW - Urban Environment - Candidate Number 3143 - 46725 – PGHS