My choice for a specific subject was flowers. To achieve a unified visual strategy, these are all cropped to a square and use an aperture of F/4 to create a blurred background. These images were shot on the same day for consistent lighting. In Photoshop a fibres filter was applied at 50% opacity to bring consistency to the background. The images are all closeups rather than a wide view of the garden. To take this a stage further, the series could have featured different varieties of one type of flower. The presentation in a grid (see learning log post, Creating Image Grids in Photoshop, for the process) is influenced by the work of Michael Wolf’s My Favourite Things discussed below.
In preparation for this series I looked at Gerhard richter’s Atlas. In this collection, Richter assembled collections of images, sketches, and newspaper cuttings that are related on to loose sheets of paper. Searle (2003), describes Richter’s collection as images that shock, chill and amuse as they range from family images to cities to concentration camps. The collections of images provide an insight into Richter’s thinking and inspiration for his art. There are many similarities to a composer (such as Beethoven) keeping sketch books where themes are explored, elaborated, and revisited as part of the creative process.
Another collection of work that uses a series is Michael Wolf’s My Favourite Things. Here the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, as collections of seeming mundane objects such as mops or string, provide a photographic documentary of the streets of Hong Kong. The uniformity of the grid and similarities of layout support a cohesive visual approach.
Bibliography
How To Make A Grid Collage In Photoshop (n.d.). Available: https://effectphoto.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-to-make-grid-collage-in-photoshop.html. Last accessed 6 October 2019.
Richter, G. (n.d.). Atlas. Available: http://www.gerhard-richter.com/art/atlas. Last accessed 6 October 2019.
Searle, A. (2003). Slow Developer. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2003/dec/09/photography. Last accessed 7 October 2019.
Wolf, M. (n.d.). My Favourite Things – Groups. Available: http://photomichaelwolf.com/#my-favourite-thing-groups-2/1. Last accessed 6 October 2019.
Last updated 7 October 2019
Karen Gourlay: Foundations in Photography 