Tuesday 29 October 2013
Part 4 - Exercise 14
I'm going to skip this exercise (the course notes do say that the latter lighting exercises are optional), as I think it's really tailored toward studio setup still lifes - which don't really interest me much.
Part 4 - Exercise 13
Concentrating light
I had to make a device for this to create a spotlight effect.
In the above photographs I experimented with the options that being able to focus the light provided - i.e. pointing the light slightly infront of and behind the subject as well as directly at it.
In the shots below I did the same thing but in different settings.
It provides a different set of options to what a non-spot effect would provide,
Sunday 27 October 2013
Toshio Shibita
Toshio Shibita (https://www.lensculture.com/articles/toshio-shibata-the-constructed-landscape-as-art) is has spent the last 30 years photographing the landscapes of America and Japan - particularly how they have been modified via human interaction and construction. However, rather than being purely documentary he includes image manipulation in his work. They almost have amontage feel to them where perspective and context are lost, but geometry and graphic are emphasized. They are almost constructions of a constructed landscape. They have a certain purity which, for me, imbue a certain aesthetic beauty to their subjects.
I find the mix of documentary and art interesting - particularly because I'm finding straight forward documentary photography increasingly uninspiring.
I find the mix of documentary and art interesting - particularly because I'm finding straight forward documentary photography increasingly uninspiring.
Sunday 20 October 2013
Gregory Crewdson - Brief Encounters
I've become increasingly interested in Gregory Crewdson since my last post on him. He's an obvious sourceof inspiration given my desire for upcoming Assignment to have a Tableau aspect to it.
I recently watched a documentary which was done on Crewdson's "Beneath the Roses" series for which he is arguably most famous. The film is called "Brief Encounters".
I was an enjoyable watch. Nothing particularly surprising or revelatory - his work had just the level of production values that I'd expected from what I read.
On a more general note, I found it interesting to re-read my comments on the 2nd chapter of "Photograph as Contemporary Art" which is focussed on Tableau. Overall I was pretty unimpressed at the time - even with Crewdson! I think I'll take another read through the chapter now that I've obviously warmed to this style of photography.
I recently watched a documentary which was done on Crewdson's "Beneath the Roses" series for which he is arguably most famous. The film is called "Brief Encounters".
I was an enjoyable watch. Nothing particularly surprising or revelatory - his work had just the level of production values that I'd expected from what I read.
On a more general note, I found it interesting to re-read my comments on the 2nd chapter of "Photograph as Contemporary Art" which is focussed on Tableau. Overall I was pretty unimpressed at the time - even with Crewdson! I think I'll take another read through the chapter now that I've obviously warmed to this style of photography.
Thursday 17 October 2013
Boots - the bad and the ugly, not the good
I'm aware that I'm in potentially dangerous territory of "Fine Art" photographs by having boots as my subject matter. So I thought I'd source some suitable reverse-inspiration instances of what-not-to-do. Some of these aren't too bad, but they're all a bit too arty and over processed. I think they also have the boots overly dominating the frame too, so don't have the Tableau context I want them to have.
The lighting here is potentially quite interesting, but the perspective makes the shot too playful.
Nice detail here and the lighting give the shape form too. But it's not what I'm trying to achieve.
Well there's certainly plenty of texture in this overprocessed HDR example. Certainly not what I'm looking to achieve.
I do like the lighting and tones of this photograph. The subject has good depth of form. I do find the composition a bit bland though. There's something the background - if it's relevant lets see more of it, if it's not relevant, lets not be distracted by it at all.
More over processing here.
The lighting here is nicely diffused - subtly showing up the detail in the leather. However, again the composition is all wrong for me - tightly cropped around the boots, but with lots of distracting stuff around it.
Lots of form here. And it's good to see a composition which seems to be making purposeful use of the scene in which the boots are set. But, it's very heavily processed and stylised overall. Looks like something from Athena.
This "on the kerb" shot is somewhat similar to a setting I hand in mind. But for me the perspective doesn't work - too top down and close-in. And what's that flower up to?
Interesting light effect - but quite probably just painted in via photoshop.
The high contrast directional light gives good form. But the central composition and splayed feet looks awkward to me. I like "real" setting though - certainly in comparison to the other photos I've chosen,
This is potentially the closest out of all these photos to what I want to achieve - mainly because I don't want the boots to overly dominate the composition. However, the oldy worldy effect here is a bit tiresome.
This is almost a product shot. Awkward composition.
By the boots being in the shadow detail is lost and shape dominates. Again, I would like to have seen more of the overall scene in which the boots are sitting.
Another overly processed photo. But another scene I was thinking of using - boots on a bench.
I do like the light here - shows all the detail in the boots. Would have liked to see more of the scene (again) - and what's that red for all about?
The lighting here is potentially quite interesting, but the perspective makes the shot too playful.
Nice detail here and the lighting give the shape form too. But it's not what I'm trying to achieve.
Well there's certainly plenty of texture in this overprocessed HDR example. Certainly not what I'm looking to achieve.
I do like the lighting and tones of this photograph. The subject has good depth of form. I do find the composition a bit bland though. There's something the background - if it's relevant lets see more of it, if it's not relevant, lets not be distracted by it at all.
More over processing here.
The lighting here is nicely diffused - subtly showing up the detail in the leather. However, again the composition is all wrong for me - tightly cropped around the boots, but with lots of distracting stuff around it.
Lots of form here. And it's good to see a composition which seems to be making purposeful use of the scene in which the boots are set. But, it's very heavily processed and stylised overall. Looks like something from Athena.
This "on the kerb" shot is somewhat similar to a setting I hand in mind. But for me the perspective doesn't work - too top down and close-in. And what's that flower up to?
Interesting light effect - but quite probably just painted in via photoshop.
The high contrast directional light gives good form. But the central composition and splayed feet looks awkward to me. I like "real" setting though - certainly in comparison to the other photos I've chosen,
This is potentially the closest out of all these photos to what I want to achieve - mainly because I don't want the boots to overly dominate the composition. However, the oldy worldy effect here is a bit tiresome.
This is almost a product shot. Awkward composition.
By the boots being in the shadow detail is lost and shape dominates. Again, I would like to have seen more of the overall scene in which the boots are sitting.
Another overly processed photo. But another scene I was thinking of using - boots on a bench.
I do like the light here - shows all the detail in the boots. Would have liked to see more of the scene (again) - and what's that red for all about?
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Assignment 4 - plans
So, as per my previous posts I've decided to use a pair of boots as the subject for Assignment 4, I've completed all the exercises now (and used the boots in some of them) and so I want to start getting more specific about what I want to photograph for the assignment.
My high level thought is take some inspiration from Tableau photography and try and get each photo to tell a story. This will involve having the boots as the main subject in various scenes. In practice, in order to demonstrate learning from this part of the course and be able to properly control the light so I will need to take some of the phtographs in indoor settings where I know I can do this - or setup studio type based scenes.
I need 8 photos, 2 each covering 4 qualities: Shape, Form, Texture and Colour (or some other quality).
Shape
This is fairly straightforward I think - it can be achieved by backlighting and creation of a silhouette.
Form
I think there are far more options here in terms of type of lighting, but I think contrast will be important - light and shade - because this is what gives a sense of depth and volume. So this will require directional lighting which isn't too diffused.
Texture
I think less contrast will be important here so that all the detail shows in terms of the leather. This will require diffused and/or reflected light.
Colour
I think it will be difficult to emphasise the colour of the boots any more than what will occur in the above shots - the colour is dark brown. However, I think some artifical or dawn lighting will present an interestingly colouring to the scene in which the boots are set.
In terms of the scenes I can think of:
Shape
In a field, backlit by a setting sun
In a park, under the darkness of a tree, with a bright, wet path behind it
On a wet street at night - backlit by distant street lights [night]
In a corner of a dark room, a spotlight lighting it's direct background [deb's house]
Form
In a corner of a dark room, a spotlight lighing it from an angle [deb's house]
In a room in front of or at the side of a window [deb's house]
High contrast, high key - against open street scene
Texture
A field, with midst in the air and dew in the grass
On a street, with very diffused light
Colour
Under a lamp post at night [night]
In a field or on a beach under a dawn sky
Near a shop window at night, reflected colour on the path [night]
Update 11/11/13
I've made mixed progress so far. I've found a number of settings/locations/ideas to be more successful than expected so I've no shortage of ideas to capture the required photographs. However, not many of the photos I've taken have been fully to my liking. So I'm in a situation where I'm not sure if I need to re-shoot the photograph. Similarly, some of the photographs are good, but need some tweaking in photoshop - i.e. elements masking out etc. This isn't something that I'd typically like to do, however as I'm intending a Tableau rather than any kind of documentary feel to the photographs I feel more comfortable with this approach.
Summary of where I am and what I need to do:
Shape
1. Done - Shot on beach that I'm reasonably happy with, but want to see if I can sort the sky out in photoshop.
2. Done - Boots on windowsill. Some simple masking out to be done for this photo.
Form
1. Done - Flat moorland scene. Need to mask out distracting weeds in distance.
2. Idea - in corner of room with spotlight, with sun from side on a street, or from window. Could use window upstairs but that would feel very similar no. 2 for Shape. Also wondering if I could do something with a spotlight in the understairs cupboard surrounded by shoes.
Texture
1. Idea - I'm quite well setup to do a scene in the garage. It could also work well for Form.
2. Idea - against a wall on a cloudy day. Maybe with covering of leaves on the floor.
Colour
1. Done - under the traffic lights. I need to try and paste a light into the puddle in photoshop.
2. Contender - boots on path under street light. The reason I'm not completely sure is that I think it would look better with the boots lower in the frame. I can play with this in photoshop to try and conclude my opinion.
My high level thought is take some inspiration from Tableau photography and try and get each photo to tell a story. This will involve having the boots as the main subject in various scenes. In practice, in order to demonstrate learning from this part of the course and be able to properly control the light so I will need to take some of the phtographs in indoor settings where I know I can do this - or setup studio type based scenes.
I need 8 photos, 2 each covering 4 qualities: Shape, Form, Texture and Colour (or some other quality).
Shape
This is fairly straightforward I think - it can be achieved by backlighting and creation of a silhouette.
Form
I think there are far more options here in terms of type of lighting, but I think contrast will be important - light and shade - because this is what gives a sense of depth and volume. So this will require directional lighting which isn't too diffused.
Texture
I think less contrast will be important here so that all the detail shows in terms of the leather. This will require diffused and/or reflected light.
Colour
I think it will be difficult to emphasise the colour of the boots any more than what will occur in the above shots - the colour is dark brown. However, I think some artifical or dawn lighting will present an interestingly colouring to the scene in which the boots are set.
In terms of the scenes I can think of:
Shape
In a field, backlit by a setting sun
In a park, under the darkness of a tree, with a bright, wet path behind it
On a wet street at night - backlit by distant street lights [night]
In a corner of a dark room, a spotlight lighting it's direct background [deb's house]
Form
In a corner of a dark room, a spotlight lighing it from an angle [deb's house]
In a room in front of or at the side of a window [deb's house]
High contrast, high key - against open street scene
Texture
A field, with midst in the air and dew in the grass
On a street, with very diffused light
Colour
Under a lamp post at night [night]
In a field or on a beach under a dawn sky
Near a shop window at night, reflected colour on the path [night]
Update 11/11/13
I've made mixed progress so far. I've found a number of settings/locations/ideas to be more successful than expected so I've no shortage of ideas to capture the required photographs. However, not many of the photos I've taken have been fully to my liking. So I'm in a situation where I'm not sure if I need to re-shoot the photograph. Similarly, some of the photographs are good, but need some tweaking in photoshop - i.e. elements masking out etc. This isn't something that I'd typically like to do, however as I'm intending a Tableau rather than any kind of documentary feel to the photographs I feel more comfortable with this approach.
Summary of where I am and what I need to do:
Shape
1. Done - Shot on beach that I'm reasonably happy with, but want to see if I can sort the sky out in photoshop.
2. Done - Boots on windowsill. Some simple masking out to be done for this photo.
Form
1. Done - Flat moorland scene. Need to mask out distracting weeds in distance.
2. Idea - in corner of room with spotlight, with sun from side on a street, or from window. Could use window upstairs but that would feel very similar no. 2 for Shape. Also wondering if I could do something with a spotlight in the understairs cupboard surrounded by shoes.
Texture
1. Idea - I'm quite well setup to do a scene in the garage. It could also work well for Form.
2. Idea - against a wall on a cloudy day. Maybe with covering of leaves on the floor.
Colour
1. Done - under the traffic lights. I need to try and paste a light into the puddle in photoshop.
2. Contender - boots on path under street light. The reason I'm not completely sure is that I think it would look better with the boots lower in the frame. I can play with this in photoshop to try and conclude my opinion.
Part 4 - Exercise 12
Contrast and shadow fill
This exercise revolves around experimenting with reflectors. The light was placed to the right, at 90 degrees to the camera. Different types of reflector were used and at different distances - but each time at 90 degrees to the left, i.e. directly opposite the light. One of the key things to change here is the level of contrast in the photos - basically the reflector bounces light back into the picture, which lightens the shadows. By lightening the shadows, the overall level of contrast is decreased and amount of visible detail is increased. (However, potentially the dynamism and impact of the photo is decreased also).
In terms of ranking from high contrast to low it would be something like:
1, 5, 2,3,4,6, 5,7, 8,9,10
Essentially the closer the reflector and the more shiny the surface the more light is reflected. The scrumpled foil has the effect of diffusing and distributing the reflection. What's odd in my results is that 2 actually ha lighter shadows than 5 - this doesn't make much sense. However, I realised after that I was photographing with a white wall, fairly close to the left and this could have skewed the results somewhat.
1. No softener or reflector. The light here is pretty ugly and unnatural, it has a potentially dynamic effect, but would have to be used very careful otherwise it will produce unsigthly shadows - like it has here, all over the shoe on the right.
2. Softener, no reflector. The softener has an immediate effect in terms of making it more natural, reducing contrast and increasing detail, but still the bottom right corner is mainly in shadow.
3. White card - at 1m distance. The shadow in the bottom right is reduced a bit by the reflector, but it's still there.
4. White card - as close as possible without showing in shot. Overall shadow is now quite reduced, but at the price of flattening out the scene.
5. Silver paper with dull side - 1m. The silver paper here has picked out highlights in the shadows which is actually quite effective.
6. Silver paper with shiny side - 1m. The shiny side is effective adding light into the right side bottom corner
10. Silver paper with shiny side, as close as possible. Here the reflector is at maximum effect in terms of lightening the scene.
Monday 14 October 2013
Part 4 - Exercise 10
Softening the light
This exercise is about using the diffuser I've created to see the effects it has.
In the first photo there is no diffuser. The light is about 1m directly above the boots. It's interesting how much shadow is created, even on the side of the boot where the ligtht can't see it. Also the background isn't receiving much light. Overall the photo is very contrasty, and as the light is harsh it looks both unnatural and unflattering. The high contrast means that there is little detail (I think this is because the detail is typically provided by the subtle variances in the mid greys).
Magnum Degrees - Photos
The Magnum Degrees book is pretty huge, I thought it worthwhile noting which photographs grabbed me most and why. Many of the photographs have a political or strongly emotional or "call to action" element, however for the most part I just judged them as photographs.
Lise Sarfati - The Serbsky institution for psychiatric expertise. Moscow, 1995
Both the colours and graphical nature to the composition are attention grabbing here. The 2 figures to the left side, leaning at angles and looking down and out from the frame add a strong compositional dynamic which is unexpected and unusual. The large, torn photograph at the top of the picture has an interesting effect on the composition, which I can't quite explain.
This is one of the most unusual and interesting photographs I've seen in a long time.
Josef Koudella - The effects of acid rain. Czech Republic, 1991
Josef Koudella - New rubbish disposal site. Czech Republic, 1991
These 2 are interesting for their stark, graphical quality. The panoramic frame proportions also emphasise the flatness of the landscape.
Henri Cartier-Bresson - l'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. France 1988
This one is both different to Bresson's usual style and also to most other photos in the book. It has an abstract quality which initially makes it difficult to ascertain the subject. But the duck gives it away. And it's the duck that transforms this from a being a potentially unexciting almost painterly photo (what's them name of that style of photography which wanted to be like painting? I think Cartier-Bresson was originally an adherent of that style or one derived from it?), into something which is far more fitting with Cartier-Bresson's genius.
Luc Delahaye - Portraits shot with a hidden camera. Paris Metro, 1995-7
These portraits have a very direct and immediate impact - particularly when they are put next to each other because there is something very similar about the expressions of the subjects - particularly the distant gaze of the eyes and perhaps even the proportion of the eyes within the structure of the face.
Apparently the work is a comment on identity and ownership of identity which is made particularly relevant in relation to photography by the fact that taking and publishing these photographs is essentially illegal (?) as it's not permitted to take photos of people without their permission in France (or something like that).
Also, the pictures are very reminiscent of the work of Walker Evans in the New York Metro many years earlier.
(Couple of other interesting things I came across while doing a bit of Googling on this - Nan Goldin's montages combining her portraits with those of classical art + Chris Marker who has done a lot of work on underground trains and seems to try and join comparisons with classical portraiture - I think I'll do some more research on him).
Peter Marlow - The hearse, flanked by police motorcycles, travels up the M1 motorway to Althorp for the burial service. England, 1997
Peter Marlow - Bungee jumper at 'adrenaline village'. Battersea, London, 1997
Peter Marlow - The world capital of suicide. Beachy Head, Sussez, 1997
Lise Sarfati - The Serbsky institution for psychiatric expertise. Moscow, 1995
Both the colours and graphical nature to the composition are attention grabbing here. The 2 figures to the left side, leaning at angles and looking down and out from the frame add a strong compositional dynamic which is unexpected and unusual. The large, torn photograph at the top of the picture has an interesting effect on the composition, which I can't quite explain.
This is one of the most unusual and interesting photographs I've seen in a long time.
Josef Koudella - The effects of acid rain. Czech Republic, 1991
Josef Koudella - New rubbish disposal site. Czech Republic, 1991
These 2 are interesting for their stark, graphical quality. The panoramic frame proportions also emphasise the flatness of the landscape.
Henri Cartier-Bresson - l'isle-sur-la-Sorgue. France 1988
This one is both different to Bresson's usual style and also to most other photos in the book. It has an abstract quality which initially makes it difficult to ascertain the subject. But the duck gives it away. And it's the duck that transforms this from a being a potentially unexciting almost painterly photo (what's them name of that style of photography which wanted to be like painting? I think Cartier-Bresson was originally an adherent of that style or one derived from it?), into something which is far more fitting with Cartier-Bresson's genius.
Luc Delahaye - Portraits shot with a hidden camera. Paris Metro, 1995-7
These portraits have a very direct and immediate impact - particularly when they are put next to each other because there is something very similar about the expressions of the subjects - particularly the distant gaze of the eyes and perhaps even the proportion of the eyes within the structure of the face.
Apparently the work is a comment on identity and ownership of identity which is made particularly relevant in relation to photography by the fact that taking and publishing these photographs is essentially illegal (?) as it's not permitted to take photos of people without their permission in France (or something like that).
Also, the pictures are very reminiscent of the work of Walker Evans in the New York Metro many years earlier.
(Couple of other interesting things I came across while doing a bit of Googling on this - Nan Goldin's montages combining her portraits with those of classical art + Chris Marker who has done a lot of work on underground trains and seems to try and join comparisons with classical portraiture - I think I'll do some more research on him).
Peter Marlow - The hearse, flanked by police motorcycles, travels up the M1 motorway to Althorp for the burial service. England, 1997
Peter Marlow - Bungee jumper at 'adrenaline village'. Battersea, London, 1997
Peter Marlow - The world capital of suicide. Beachy Head, Sussez, 1997
These 3 photographs work very well as a combined unit. They seem to comment on suicide and mortality. They each have a strong graphical quality which is unique within the 3, but the subject matter gives them a unity and meaning which they would otherwise lack. Equally the means by which they comment on death is different - the cliff is only related by the title which tells us that it's the platform for many suicides, the bungee jumper is related because the cliff makes us think of people jumping from cliffs. Meanwhile the funeral procession has a far more direct relation.However, I'm guessing this is the Diana procession - so this has multiple layers of meaning and commentary on death, mourning and mortality also.
This set is perhaps quite relevant for the final Narrative part of this course.
Wednesday 9 October 2013
Magnum Degrees - Introduction
Someone bought me a Magnum book for my birthday - Magnum Degrees. The book includes photographs from across the members of Magnum at the point at which the agency reached 50 years of age. The photographs give a view of the world after the fall of the Berlin Wall to the current time (2003 at the point of publication). The introduction is by Michael Ignatieff and there were a number of things raised in it which struck a chord with me. I'm going to quote directly:
"To document is to subvert since reality is the least obvious thing there is. To approach it one has to strip away the clichés that keep it hidden from our sight."
"We always think photography tells us more than it does. We always think we understand more than we do when we look at a photograph. The reality is that we do not know the people in the photographs: the photographers themselves often do not even know the names of the people whose suffering or elation of terror they are recording."
"Magnums photographers are sometimes criticised for 'aestheticizing' violence, for making killing seem beautiful. But that is surely their job: to make terror beautiful so that it will be unforgettable; so that it will burn into peoples memories; so they will do something to stop it, if they can."
"Television seems to tell us everything we need to know. It drains reality of mystery by suggesting that what we see is all there is. Good photography restores the mystery of the world by stopping time so that we can both see and reflect upon what is there. Hence the unending strangeness of photography; that it both documents the world, establishes what is essentially there, while at the same time showing to us what we cannot see with our eyes alone, so if photography has a redeeming or cleansing effect on our vision, it is because it seems to restore both the reality of the world and its essential elusiveness."
"So now there might be a few magnum photographers who would lay claim to the ideal if trying to show that human beings are the same underneath the skin. The successors - represented in this book - seem intent chiefly to represent the modern world in all its fragmented, perplexed confusion. The world is in pieces; there are no cold-war mastodons left to oppose; no liberal or any other certainties to align oneself with; so be it, these image-makers seem to be saying. Let us go out and see the world. These photographers do not want to affirm, just look; do not want to speak out, just observe; do not want to convince or persuade, just show. The purpose of photography is not political of moral or anything else; the purpose of photography is photography. End of story."
"To document is to subvert since reality is the least obvious thing there is. To approach it one has to strip away the clichés that keep it hidden from our sight."
"Magnums photographers are sometimes criticised for 'aestheticizing' violence, for making killing seem beautiful. But that is surely their job: to make terror beautiful so that it will be unforgettable; so that it will burn into peoples memories; so they will do something to stop it, if they can."
"Television seems to tell us everything we need to know. It drains reality of mystery by suggesting that what we see is all there is. Good photography restores the mystery of the world by stopping time so that we can both see and reflect upon what is there. Hence the unending strangeness of photography; that it both documents the world, establishes what is essentially there, while at the same time showing to us what we cannot see with our eyes alone, so if photography has a redeeming or cleansing effect on our vision, it is because it seems to restore both the reality of the world and its essential elusiveness."
"So now there might be a few magnum photographers who would lay claim to the ideal if trying to show that human beings are the same underneath the skin. The successors - represented in this book - seem intent chiefly to represent the modern world in all its fragmented, perplexed confusion. The world is in pieces; there are no cold-war mastodons left to oppose; no liberal or any other certainties to align oneself with; so be it, these image-makers seem to be saying. Let us go out and see the world. These photographers do not want to affirm, just look; do not want to speak out, just observe; do not want to convince or persuade, just show. The purpose of photography is not political of moral or anything else; the purpose of photography is photography. End of story."
Sunday 6 October 2013
GTA V
I'm often quite interested in where artists/photographers appropriate photographs rather than take them (Thomas Ruth, the artist who I saw at the Aperture office, but still haven't got the name of(!)). And I was very interested to hear about an artist who had started to use his phone within GTA V to take photos within the game. As additional layers of subtext here, he posts them on Flickr - as the icing on the cake, a Google search on this brings up an article on him and this activity in the Daily Mail.
Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2433399/GTA-V-photographer-Phil-Rose-captures-images-games-camera.html
Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/groups/landscapesoflossantos/pool/
Phil Rose's website - http://www.philrosephoto.com
The core of this lies in the stylized americana and the popcorn, almost ready-made HDR look in the game.
The layers of irony come thick and fast here. I don't know where to start!
What is perhaps dissapointing (or perhaps just another layer or irony), is that the photographer who started the "craze" actually seems to take this genre of popular photography in the real world too (as do the other flickr submitters that I bothered to check). So there is a potential ernestness to these as valid photographs - at least if they were taken in the real world? In many ways they do represent the kind of photographs that would typically be very popular on Flickr. And the Daily Mail seems to like them.....
So as serious photography struggles to find it's place, will another nail in the coffin be the virtualisation of the photography process itself? Or maybe that will just mark the difference between the sacred and the profane.
Daily Mail - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2433399/GTA-V-photographer-Phil-Rose-captures-images-games-camera.html
Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/groups/landscapesoflossantos/pool/
Phil Rose's website - http://www.philrosephoto.com
The core of this lies in the stylized americana and the popcorn, almost ready-made HDR look in the game.
The layers of irony come thick and fast here. I don't know where to start!
What is perhaps dissapointing (or perhaps just another layer or irony), is that the photographer who started the "craze" actually seems to take this genre of popular photography in the real world too (as do the other flickr submitters that I bothered to check). So there is a potential ernestness to these as valid photographs - at least if they were taken in the real world? In many ways they do represent the kind of photographs that would typically be very popular on Flickr. And the Daily Mail seems to like them.....
So as serious photography struggles to find it's place, will another nail in the coffin be the virtualisation of the photography process itself? Or maybe that will just mark the difference between the sacred and the profane.
O. Winston Link & Gregory Crewdson - American Darkness - Danziger Gallery
I went to the Danziger Gallery while I was in New York in late Spring. I wrote up some blog entries for my other visits which I did on the same trip, but I never got round to writing this one up. It was actually particularly relevant for the current topic of light.
2 artists were on display, one (arguably in certain respects) being an updated version of the former - Gregory Crewdson and O. Winston Link respectively.
O. Winston Link's revolved around a locomotive, used as a background as it travels along it's track. It was only after viewing a number of the photographs that I realised that the train was in each photograph. I also found it difficult at first to determine if the work was contemporary or not - the work had a definate 40's / 50's feel, but it also felt decidedly contemporary. The hollywood-esque aspect seemed to be very knowing and therefore felt quite retrospective. Each of the pieces had a very theatrcial and setup feel to it - it looked to be painstaking, but of course the timing of each shot must have been precise in order to get the train into the background each time. The lighting itself was clearly epic in it's proportions - each shot was taken at night. There was almost an infrared quality to the work. For me there is definite "tableau" aspect to his work.
Gregory Crewdson's work is contemporary and colour, but has equally epic staging and lighting. It also had a somewhat 40's / 50's hollywoodesque feel to it. One key difference was the focus on the individual - there was a sense of loneliness and isolation that reminded me of Edward Hopper's work.
It's only when I came to write this entry that I realised that I already knew the work of Crewdson (partly from my reading - http://stevenbriggs7.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-photograph-as-contemporary-art_22.html). I certainly didn't recognise any of the pieces on display, but the work was in keeping with what I'd seen previously.
2 artists were on display, one (arguably in certain respects) being an updated version of the former - Gregory Crewdson and O. Winston Link respectively.
O. Winston Link's revolved around a locomotive, used as a background as it travels along it's track. It was only after viewing a number of the photographs that I realised that the train was in each photograph. I also found it difficult at first to determine if the work was contemporary or not - the work had a definate 40's / 50's feel, but it also felt decidedly contemporary. The hollywood-esque aspect seemed to be very knowing and therefore felt quite retrospective. Each of the pieces had a very theatrcial and setup feel to it - it looked to be painstaking, but of course the timing of each shot must have been precise in order to get the train into the background each time. The lighting itself was clearly epic in it's proportions - each shot was taken at night. There was almost an infrared quality to the work. For me there is definite "tableau" aspect to his work.
Gregory Crewdson's work is contemporary and colour, but has equally epic staging and lighting. It also had a somewhat 40's / 50's hollywoodesque feel to it. One key difference was the focus on the individual - there was a sense of loneliness and isolation that reminded me of Edward Hopper's work.
It's only when I came to write this entry that I realised that I already knew the work of Crewdson (partly from my reading - http://stevenbriggs7.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-photograph-as-contemporary-art_22.html). I certainly didn't recognise any of the pieces on display, but the work was in keeping with what I'd seen previously.
Bill Brandt
I saw some of Bill Brandt's work at MoMA when I visited earlier this year - http://stevenbriggs7.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/moma.html . I was struck by the forms and often graphical nature of the nudes - much of this is due to lighting so I thought it worth commenting on again.
The image above is high contrast and overexposed overall. Particularly with the deep shadows and lack of texture, the form of subject is emphasised.
This light here is focussed on the woman, again there is high contrast here, but far more shadow than in the top photograph. Again, the form is emphasised.
There is much more midtone in this photograph, so more texture and delicacy is displayed. I wonder how he managed to expose and light to keep the detail of the outside scene as well as all the detail in the room.
In the shot above and below there is far more texture detail than the previous shots, again this is partly because of an increase in midtone greys in the photo, but also because the light is coming more from the side.
The image above is high contrast and overexposed overall. Particularly with the deep shadows and lack of texture, the form of subject is emphasised.
This light here is focussed on the woman, again there is high contrast here, but far more shadow than in the top photograph. Again, the form is emphasised.
There is much more midtone in this photograph, so more texture and delicacy is displayed. I wonder how he managed to expose and light to keep the detail of the outside scene as well as all the detail in the room.
In the shot above and below there is far more texture detail than the previous shots, again this is partly because of an increase in midtone greys in the photo, but also because the light is coming more from the side.
Saturday 5 October 2013
Part 4 - Exercise 7
Cloudy weather and rain
This exercise falls into 3 parts. Part 1 involves taking 3 subjects in sunlight and under cloud.The second part involves taking 3 shots on an overcast day of subjects with depth of texture.
(I didn't get round to doing this, but I'm pretty confident as to the effect I would have seen - i.e. that the sunlight increases contrast and the shadows help to present the subjects depth and form. Conversely, the diffused nature of the light when there is cloud cover is that overall contrast is reduced and the density of mid-tones and reduced shadow means that detail and texture can really come out.)
The 3rd part involves trying to capture some of the effects that rain can bring to a scene.
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