This week I’ve gone back to work to start to understand how we will commence training again.

What have I learnt whilst I’ve been at home?

• Routine is a must
• Mental stimulation is a must
• Only so much tv can be watched
• Utilise what you have
• Experiment
• Learn about new techniques
• Read
• Look
• Listen
• Get outside with your camera

As I start to finalise assignment five, I wait to see how my initial essay draft comes back. Then I have time on my hands to finalise all assignments prior to the assessment date later on in the year.

Taken on today’s walk into town. Silhouette play.

Taken the other day whilst out walking. You start to see new ideas and how photographers like Vivian Maier and Lee Friedlander we’re able to stand in front of a window and capture a self-portrait. Two takes on research of these two photographers. Using the mirror and the framing to create the composition and idea of a frame within frame within a frame.

And your notice they are in colour I intentionally set myself a goal to shoot in colour. This area I visit is nine times out of ten dark with shadows and pools of light during the morning sun. I’ve walked past this shop numerous times and tried to capture people’s reflections within the shop where shower displays are.

With the ongoing COVID restrictions to work and travel, I will be looking to returning to work in the coming weeks TBC.

So what have I been doing recently?

• exploring self-portraits
• understanding the use of studio/flash
• WiP with assignment five
• researching new ideas
• purchasing second-hand books
• getting outside and taking pictures
• different forms of media creation (zines)

Working with light and dark is always something I enjoy looking for. During this time I’ve started to see places I’ve not seen before. The lack of people walking and congregating around what would normally be a tourist haven and direct route to Windsor Castle, I’ve started to find small areas where the light bounces of or creates strong backgrounds to capture contrast silhouettes. These are for me the beauty of photography, where compositions are found and developed during the edit. These locations will be great spots come the days we return to normality in the future.

I intend to use one or two of these images and few new ones I need to recce first to add the assignment two adjusted version building on the use of colour and chiaroscuro.

Vivian Maier silhouette

screenshot from Pinterest

https://pin.it/1UxZa8C

Two images in his book of dog’s I enjoy to look at, manly down to previously owning a British Bulldog for ten years and seeing how funny they can be.

The way he composed his pictures with all the dog showing an unusual point of view captures the unknown aspect of the animals view.

Having the dogs as the main subject and like the bottom one hiding the human face opens the idea of the dog being superior and the human as the Pet. Although some would question these as just snap shots of the street. For me they are more than this an injection of humor and intrigued dogs PoV.

I’ve recently purchased ”All about Saul Leiter” book online. Ive seen his work before hand through friends style of photography with their own style of water droplets on windows and multiple layers of action within a frame.

These are a few of the images I’m personally drawn to below.

Why is it I like these images?

• Composition
• Colouring
• Negative space
• Strong silhouette
• Layers of action
• Sense of unknown
• Hidden beauty

His compositions are extremely true in regard to the rule of thirds. The use of negative space and how the viewer is drawn into the image. The above image are ones that hold my eye when flicking through this book. Mainly due to the above comments. Strange you may think when I’ve been mainly supporting the Bnw genres, I do like a strong colour picture as long as I can the photographer has my attention as soon my eye has seen it.

So why we have time on our hands, we turn to the medium of film or television series to keep us sane and occupied. Whilst watching Clint Eastwoods Gran Tarino film this afternoon, I started to notice how cinema can inspire you with how scenes our lit to produce different kinds of drama or narrative in the scene.

This particular scene is where Walt (Eastwood) is talking to the father about how he going to sort the issue. The picture above is rudely cropped but the scene had great use of negative space and slight lighting onto Walts’s face. That small triangle of light on his left side of the face, where his eyes are slightly closed and face is showing a sense of frustration and anger. Lighting enhanced this scene to complement how angry Walt was feeling with himself.

Whist lock down many are cracking on with finding things to do I’ve looked at how a can produce some worthy self-portraits. Building on Ass three ideas and the images I’ve taken. I’ve invested in a bigger studio light with flash. A few images I’ve been playing with. Seeing how light falls on the face and trying to achieve the classic Rembrandt light on the face.

Research for this will now be key, I’ve got ahead of where I thought id be. Although it’s been suggested that I would be ready for this next assessment date, I feel I now have time to prepare for this final assignment before finishing, Context and Narrative for the November submission date.

To be continued…

Hopefully, this will work and be something to build on, using iMovie and PowerPoint and Vimeo.

This will be something that ill look to keep going. By already using timelapse with my DJI PocketOsmo. I can see now how being experimental is key to building on success.

By seeing how the filmmakers use light and dark (Chiaroscuro) helps you to understand the narrative better. BBC iPlayer recently had a documentary “Cinema through the Eye of Magnum Photos“.

Some really interesting parts in how many Magnum photographers documented films and followed Hollywood actors and actresses. In particular how Robert Capa was influenced by film and the connecting he made during his time photographing the second world war.

 

After reading the assignment two tutor feedback I’ve found myself in a somewhat strange and unfulfilled mood. I feel that I may have rushed this assignment somewhat from the tutor’s comments, but saying that there are some strong points within the feedback in regards to my technical approach to the photograph, from composition to editing. Yes, there still loads to understand and ultimately art is subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

beholder

A beholder is an observer: someone who gains awareness of things through the senses, especially sight. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then the person who is observing gets to decide what is beautiful.

The learning curve on this course has increased substantially from understanding what makes an image into trying to figure out the narrative within the series of pictures your trying to showcase for assignment is something else.

Suggested reading with Ralph Gibson who I’ve never heard of or would had even looked for him during any research unless seeing one of his images during an internet search. looking through his archive of works and how he achieves the black and white pictures are something I myself are drawn to. By using the light and shadows to play a part within the photo for me is how I like to take pictures. Some I’m not so keen on, but anything that has a shadow, light pools or a mixture of the both I will tend to look at longer. Admiring how the image has been composed, looking at the way the light has fallen onto the subject, where the subject casts a shadow and how that shadow creates pools of darkness.

Assignment five initial ideas will more than likely be a colour composed image for what I will try to put together with a narrative that colour will play a part in. BnW will work and I will place this in my research with images and trails. However, to add complexity to my learning process at this time it probably wise that I show the use of colour in my photography journey and not stick to black and white.

I don’t think it helps when I look for research and see amazing BnW images by the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Alfred Stieglitz, Fan Ho, Sir Don McCullin. Visiting the Tate museum and the McCullin exhibition was for me an inspiring day, looking at his BnW pictures starring at them taking in every last inch of them before moving onto the next. Was something that I think about when looking for images myself.

WHO’s right, who does know what beauty is?