I recently visited the Photographers Gallery in London. We were lucky to see the exhibition 'fresh faced & wild eyed 2010', which is work by recent graduates - an incredible range and variety if images. Most were sets, from two or 3 works up to about a dozen photos. All were inspirational and thought provoking and some were particularly clever and original!
I was particularly taken by the work of Simone Koch (http://www.simonekoch.co.uk/wahl.html). Her piece 'But we must cultivate our Garden' was really excellent - quirky images, mixture of people and place, closeups and abstracts; it really made me think about what made a set of images clever. I hope to be able to do something vaguely similar with my final assignment for TAOP, not in terms of including people in so many images, but taking photos that are not obvious and making them interesting.
We also saw Briony Campbell talking at the Friday lunchtime talk. Her work 'The dad project' was moving and impressive, though I thought the photos didn't tell enough of the story - the captions were needed which I think is a bit unfortunate. I have seen similar works, both online and at a visit to FOAM gallery in Amsterdam. To take such a personal experience (a relative with a terminal illness) and photograph it takes some guts, and she said that it had helped her grieving experience. I'm not sure it's the most original piece of work however, though it certainly was very touching.
I think those students who chose just a few images to present often resulted in stronger impact for me - sometimes it's difficult to make a choice between 'favourite' images, and I think this is actually a very important part of the process of photography (something I myself struggle with at times). But it also distills down the piece of work into the key images and it you can't get your message across in those images then perhaps the work is not strong enough? Another photographer whos work was very impressive and memorable was Anna Linderstam, who had her subjects hypnotised and then photographed them in that state. The massive triptych that results is visually stunning and very effective.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Project 63: A narrative picture essay
I have chosen a subject close to home for this essay. My mother has been visiting recently and she is a wicked baker. I got her help with baking a family favourite; Oaty Chocolate Bars, and have photographed the process. This was a fun exercise and a challenge to get interesting viewpoints and make each photo different. I think it has worked fairly well, though the photos are not the best I have taken. I used my mains flash to provide additional lighting in the kitchen.
Here is the recipe, it's also on the photos:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup sultanas
3/4 cup choc bits
180g butter, melted
1/4 cup golden syrup, warmed
1. Grease 20 x 30cm tray, cover with greasproof paper
2. Combine oats, flour, sugar, nuts, sultanas and choc bits. Stir in butter and syrup.
3. Press mixture evenly into pan
4. Bake in a moderate oven for 25 mintues or until lightly browned
5. Cool slightly in pan before cutting
Enjoy!
Here is the recipe, it's also on the photos:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup castor sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup sultanas
3/4 cup choc bits
180g butter, melted
1/4 cup golden syrup, warmed
1. Grease 20 x 30cm tray, cover with greasproof paper
2. Combine oats, flour, sugar, nuts, sultanas and choc bits. Stir in butter and syrup.
3. Press mixture evenly into pan
4. Bake in a moderate oven for 25 mintues or until lightly browned
5. Cool slightly in pan before cutting
Enjoy!
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| From Project_63 |
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| From Project_63 |
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| From Project_63 |
Sunday, 13 June 2010
Exercise 3: Experimenting with light
The brief for this exercise was to photograph a subject in different lighting situations to observe the differences the light has on the resulting portrait. I have used head & shoulders shots for all the photos.
Photo 1. Studio light setup (ie indoors, with mains flash and shoot-through umbrella).
This photo has nice even lighting over most of the face, though the right side is slightly darker than the left. The light is (relatively) easy to control indoors, and (due to the large diffuse light source) doesn't leave any harsh shadows on the face, and results in attractive catchlights in the eyes. Feature lines on the face are seen because the light is not coming directly from the camera and there are small shadows as a result. The angle of the light is quite important though, and I have not experimented with this in this case.
70mm, f/6.7, 1/125s, ISO200
Photo 2. Indoors, with 580EX flash with diffuser fitted.
I have used a simple setup with the 580EX mounted directly on the camera, shooting vertically towards the ceiling with a bulb-type diffuser fitted to create a pleasant lighting effect. In this case it has given a fairly even coverage of light over the face. Catchlights are present in the eyes but also on the nose and wine glass which is not so appealing.
24mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, ISO400
Photo 3. Full sunlight with strong reflection from nearby building
I noticed a very strong reflection in the early evening coming off the building, so I positioned my subject in the full sunlight but close to the building so his face is lit on both sides - his left by the sun directly and his right by the sun via the building. This actually makes for a nicely balanced portrait, though the sun is obviously quite bright in his eyes. The creases on his face are emphasised by the strong light, more so than the indoor lighting portraits.
62mm, f/16, 1/60s, ISO100
Photo 4. Full sunlight with no strong nearby reflections
This photo is taken in strong sunlight with no nearby strong reflections. The difference with Photo 3 is marked. Here the whole right side of the face is in shadow. This makes for a more dramatic portrait, which in the right setting could be quite useful.
60mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO100
Photo 5. Shade with no strong light reflections
Instantly this photo is much more gentle and balanced than the previous two, much more like the indoors portraits. The light is diffuse and even across the subjects face, though the right side of the face is lighter (when looking around at the scene - there are a number of buildings reflecting sunlight at a distance in that direction). Shade is good for gentle balanced light with no harsh shadows.
70mm, f/2.8, 1/125s, ISO100
This was an interesting project. I also had a play around indoors with my husband using the flash bare and diffuse and the differences are marked. This project shows how important careful use of light is in portriature, but also how different effects can be used to advantage. I often get 'scared' of shooting in full sunlight, but I will try to do this more to create some strong shadows and more dramatic photos.
Photo 1. Studio light setup (ie indoors, with mains flash and shoot-through umbrella).
This photo has nice even lighting over most of the face, though the right side is slightly darker than the left. The light is (relatively) easy to control indoors, and (due to the large diffuse light source) doesn't leave any harsh shadows on the face, and results in attractive catchlights in the eyes. Feature lines on the face are seen because the light is not coming directly from the camera and there are small shadows as a result. The angle of the light is quite important though, and I have not experimented with this in this case.
 |
| From Exercise_3 |
70mm, f/6.7, 1/125s, ISO200
Photo 2. Indoors, with 580EX flash with diffuser fitted.
I have used a simple setup with the 580EX mounted directly on the camera, shooting vertically towards the ceiling with a bulb-type diffuser fitted to create a pleasant lighting effect. In this case it has given a fairly even coverage of light over the face. Catchlights are present in the eyes but also on the nose and wine glass which is not so appealing.
 |
| From Exercise_3 |
24mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, ISO400
Photo 3. Full sunlight with strong reflection from nearby building
I noticed a very strong reflection in the early evening coming off the building, so I positioned my subject in the full sunlight but close to the building so his face is lit on both sides - his left by the sun directly and his right by the sun via the building. This actually makes for a nicely balanced portrait, though the sun is obviously quite bright in his eyes. The creases on his face are emphasised by the strong light, more so than the indoor lighting portraits.
 |
| From Exercise_3 |
62mm, f/16, 1/60s, ISO100
Photo 4. Full sunlight with no strong nearby reflections
This photo is taken in strong sunlight with no nearby strong reflections. The difference with Photo 3 is marked. Here the whole right side of the face is in shadow. This makes for a more dramatic portrait, which in the right setting could be quite useful.
 |
| From Exercise_3 |
60mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO100
Photo 5. Shade with no strong light reflections
Instantly this photo is much more gentle and balanced than the previous two, much more like the indoors portraits. The light is diffuse and even across the subjects face, though the right side of the face is lighter (when looking around at the scene - there are a number of buildings reflecting sunlight at a distance in that direction). Shade is good for gentle balanced light with no harsh shadows.
 |
| From Exercise_3 |
70mm, f/2.8, 1/125s, ISO100
This was an interesting project. I also had a play around indoors with my husband using the flash bare and diffuse and the differences are marked. This project shows how important careful use of light is in portriature, but also how different effects can be used to advantage. I often get 'scared' of shooting in full sunlight, but I will try to do this more to create some strong shadows and more dramatic photos.
Monday, 7 June 2010
Exercise 4: An Active Portrait
Exercise 4: An Active Portrait
The aim of this exercise was to photograph someone engaged in an activity. We were time limited due to the constraints of having my baby with us, but I managed to get some good photos of my subject, our baby massage teacher Jane. She was demonstrating how to give a baby massage on her 'baby', Joe. I felt like the session went quite well but I am still not very good at relaxing my subject and helping her to feel at ease. This is something I need to practice, and possibly would be made easier by using a tripod for the camera so that I don't have to be looking through the camera while photographing.
Photo 1: Setting up Joe for his massage
Photo 2: A high angle photograph of Jane demonstrating a leg massage
Photo 3: Jane demonstrating an alternative position for a back massage for a baby
Photo 4: Jane demonstrating an alternative position for a back massage for a baby, making eye-contact with the camera helps to make the photograph more personable
Photo 5: As Photo 4, but from a slightly higher angle
Photo 6: A different pose, closer in with Joe over her shoulder getting a back massage. Some minor editing in PS to lighten.
Photo 7: A different pose, closer in with Joe over her shoulder getting a back massage. By the end of the session we were both feeling more comfortable, and I think this is probably the best shot. Some minor editing in PS to lighten.
More practice required, but it was fun to photograph Jane with Joe, and I think she was more relaxed having something to do while I was taking the photos.
The aim of this exercise was to photograph someone engaged in an activity. We were time limited due to the constraints of having my baby with us, but I managed to get some good photos of my subject, our baby massage teacher Jane. She was demonstrating how to give a baby massage on her 'baby', Joe. I felt like the session went quite well but I am still not very good at relaxing my subject and helping her to feel at ease. This is something I need to practice, and possibly would be made easier by using a tripod for the camera so that I don't have to be looking through the camera while photographing.
Photo 1: Setting up Joe for his massage
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| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 2: A high angle photograph of Jane demonstrating a leg massage
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| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 3: Jane demonstrating an alternative position for a back massage for a baby
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| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 4: Jane demonstrating an alternative position for a back massage for a baby, making eye-contact with the camera helps to make the photograph more personable
 |
| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 5: As Photo 4, but from a slightly higher angle
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| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 6: A different pose, closer in with Joe over her shoulder getting a back massage. Some minor editing in PS to lighten.
 |
| From Exercise_4 |
Photo 7: A different pose, closer in with Joe over her shoulder getting a back massage. By the end of the session we were both feeling more comfortable, and I think this is probably the best shot. Some minor editing in PS to lighten.
 |
| From Exercise_4 |
More practice required, but it was fun to photograph Jane with Joe, and I think she was more relaxed having something to do while I was taking the photos.
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