Laura Letinsky, Aftermath
Laura Letinsky is a Canadian photographer known for her still life photos. Her series, aftermath is a collection of photos of the remainders of a meal. She also balances these objects on the edge of a table. The use of this type of composition gives the impression of the object having the potential to fall. In the image on the left there is a green/blue tint to the image which complements the colour of the plates and food on the table. On the right the background is completely plain and white, the mess disrupts the uniformity of the environment.
For this task we were asked to recreate the aftermath of a meal, and then position the objects precariously on the edge of the table.
WWW: the positioning and lighting of the objects
EBI: more contrasting objects
WWW: the positioning and lighting of the objects
EBI: more contrasting objects
Jan Groover
Jan Groover was an American photographer who was regarded as one of the best still photographer. The pictures below are an example of the use of composition and reflective silver objects to add depth to the image. She also places the objects over each other and interlocking to add texture to the photo.
For this task we were asked to imitate Groover's style and use a variety of kitchen utensils and to arrange them in a sink. I used a low ISO as the room was well lit and it kept a high resolution. In addition I positioned the objects so that they would reflect off of each other. a low shutter speed such as 60' was used as it was a still shot in good lighting. A relatively small aperture was used to capture all of the reflections.
WWW: The positioning of the subjects
EBI: More detail in the close ups and better angles
WWW: The positioning of the subjects
EBI: More detail in the close ups and better angles
Andre Kertesz
Kertesz was a Hungarian photographer who greatly contributed to compositional photography. The photos above display his great work done with black and white photography, and he gets great positioning of the subjects in frame. The positioning of the fork and the angle of the light source created a shadow underneath, in the photo with the birds there is an angled light source to that there is a large and imitating shadow in the foreground.
|
For this task we we asked to recreate some of Andre Kertesz work, a fork in a dynamic position but with an adjustable light source to give off different kinds of shadows. The photos on the left show the unedited photos and below are the final ones. In the first few I was experimenting with the light source and where to put it, the shadows vary greatly depending on its position. The ones down below were edited to be black and white, as well as contrast increase and cropping. This made the shadows more prominent.
|
WWW: Good use of light source and positioning
EBI: More depth by using more forks or more objects to position the fork on.
EBI: More depth by using more forks or more objects to position the fork on.
Robert Holden: Burning House
Robert Holden is a photographer who created his own series of photos based on items you would save if your house was on fire. He uses compositional techniques such as framing to give the image an edge and a sort of uniformity, in the picture above right he literally uses a frame to contain the objects. The objects are mostly aligned, but occasionally some would jut out of the edges to contrast with the rest.
|
For this task we were asked to imitate Robert Holden's Burning House series, and gather objects with personal or practical value and arrange them. On the left are the unedited photos and below is the final result. At first there I realised there was too much empty space in the shot so I gathered some other objects the make the image feel whole. I also adjusted camera settings such as ISO and shutter sped to account for the lighting. Saturation was increased as the image felt washed out and contrast was increased to add differentiation between the colours.
|
Luke Stevenson
Stevenson is an English freelance photographer. His photos usually depict unusual compositions of people and images in plain coloured environments. One of his projects titled 7122 cornflakes in a box was a series of photographs of cornflakes takes with a plain black background. He turned the 7122 images into a gif and uploaded it onto YouTube. Stevenson uses a plain background to contrast against the unusual subject.
|
For this task we were asked to create a series of images similar to Stevenson's using objects such as crisps or popcorn. Above is a slideshow of all the unedited photos that were then edited and turned into a gif I balanced a phone on top of books as a camera and used a small light for a light source. The background was a sheet of white paper. I chose a bag of Wotsits to photograph. Some of the photographs have uneven lighting, this was due to the light not balancing correctly.
|
WWW: Variation of subjects and cropping
EBI: Better consistency in each photograph (lighting, positioning, etc.)
EBI: Better consistency in each photograph (lighting, positioning, etc.)
Edward Weston
Edward Weston was an American photographer who was known for giving life to still objects such as fruit and vegetables. In his images above he uses compositional techniques to give the objects life, the pepper on the left appears to be two people because of the angle and positioning of the subject. He also uses a dark background to give off more emotion, and he lets the light reflect off of the objects and not their surroundings.
|
For this task we were aske to imitate the style of Weston and photograph a vegetable. Light reflective off of the cauliflower created a dramatic effect, and raising contrast and lowering brightness helped replicate Edward Weston's style of photography. This was done using a vegetable, a sheet of paper and an adjustable light source. On the left is a slideshow of previous attempts and unedited copies, and below are the final two. I experimented with different light angles and positions of the subject so there was a variety of photos to choose from. Light reflecting off of the cauliflower created a dramatic effect, and after raising contrast and lowering brightness this enhanced the effect. The plain background, high resolution and reduction in saturation gave the final images a clean look.
|
WWW: good use of lighting and positioning
EBI: greater variety of subjects and use of different compositional techniques
EBI: greater variety of subjects and use of different compositional techniques
David Hockney Photojoiner
David Hockney is connected to the pop art art movement. This movement was interested in responding to portraiture
Hockney created photojoiners. Photographs are taken of the same object from different perspectives. The images are then collaged together to recreate the place, person or object even though they may look distorted. This work connects with the cubist movement, one of Hockney's major aims.
The photos are edited so that the image is composed of many images of the same subject but from different angles.
Hockney created photojoiners. Photographs are taken of the same object from different perspectives. The images are then collaged together to recreate the place, person or object even though they may look distorted. This work connects with the cubist movement, one of Hockney's major aims.
The photos are edited so that the image is composed of many images of the same subject but from different angles.
We were asked to replicate the style of David Hockney's photojoiners by using a chair as the subject. I took multiple photos of the stool, using different lighting in some to give off a sense of imperfection, and then edited the photos together on photoshop as a collage. The images line up but not exactly, adding to the imperfection of the piece. A plain background also helped as there was more freedom to move the separate images to a desired position.
WWW: Good use of lighting and composition
EBI: Some contrasting objects to add more colour to the image
EBI: Some contrasting objects to add more colour to the image
Chad Pitman: Reflection of a Person / Lauren Marek: Pieces
Chad Pitman is an American photographer who discovered his interest in photography through his father. In his images above he utilises coloured light to add contrast and another view to the subject. The piece comprises of macro shots of the persons face and hands.
|
Lauren Marek is an American photographer based in Texas who takes both landscapes and portraits. In her images above she also utilises macro shots of a persons face, hand and hair. The images are pieced together to that they are close to assembling a full face, but never does.
|
|
For this task we were asked to imitate both the style of Pitman and Marek. My piece comprises also of smaller macro shots of the face and body. Saturation had to be reduced as the some of the images had an orange tint, so this was done to maintain uniformity. The light source was soft so that the shadows weren't too overpowering. The images were also cropped to focus on the individuality of each image.
|
Development
Thomas Kellner
Kellner is a German photographer who is well known for his 'photo mosaics'. His style is similar that of David Hockney's
photojoiners as both appear to be inspired by the cubism movement. Kellner takes many photos of a famous landmark of piece of architecture from different angles. This is done by using film to so that when printed out it would resemble pieces of the building but in a completely different shape. This idea of deconstructing buildings makes us rethink architecture and allows us to observe creations from different perspectives, but as one image.
photojoiners as both appear to be inspired by the cubism movement. Kellner takes many photos of a famous landmark of piece of architecture from different angles. This is done by using film to so that when printed out it would resemble pieces of the building but in a completely different shape. This idea of deconstructing buildings makes us rethink architecture and allows us to observe creations from different perspectives, but as one image.
This is my finished response to Thomas Kellner. I used a lamp as the subject, meaning that it was the light source of the image. To create this photo i shot from different angles so I could piece together a rough image of the lamp but different to the original. The lighting was different on the right side of the lamp so this created a contrast in colour in the final photo. The final image resembles a lamp but more textured and larger, similar to his image of the Eiffel tower (top left). The way in which its composed is also similar to David Hockney's photojoiners.
Steve Purnell
Purnell is a photographer from South East Wales. These photos are an example of the op art movement of the 1930s. His images include a striped black background and glasses. The glasses distort the background, changing the direction and size of the stripes.
This work links to Andre kertesz and his use of distortion in shadows. His work also links to jan Groover, an American still life photographer, who creates distorted and abstract reflections in the subjects of her images. His photos are taken using a glass (or glasses) containing water with a patterned background. The amount of water in the glasses can change the amount of image that is distorted. The water in the glass sometimes inverts the image behind, changing the flow of the photograph. The shape of the glass also determines how the image will bend around its surface.
This work links to Andre kertesz and his use of distortion in shadows. His work also links to jan Groover, an American still life photographer, who creates distorted and abstract reflections in the subjects of her images. His photos are taken using a glass (or glasses) containing water with a patterned background. The amount of water in the glasses can change the amount of image that is distorted. The water in the glass sometimes inverts the image behind, changing the flow of the photograph. The shape of the glass also determines how the image will bend around its surface.
|
These are the unedited photos in response to Steve Purnell, I used wrapping paper as a background and used my phone as a camera. I chose a selection of differently shared glasses to add variation and changed the levels of water in each glass so that the distortion would occur at different points.
|
The photos above were taken at home using an iPhone, and the ones below were at school using a camera.
|
These are my unedited photos in response to Steve Purnell which were taken at school. I improved these by using more contrasted backgrounds and a better camera. This way I was able to get closer to the subject and use techniques such as depth of field and focus.
|
WWW: Good use of camera techniques; DoF and focus
EBI: Greater variety of shots and angles
EBI: Greater variety of shots and angles