The term archive in relation to photography usually describes a specific set of images, for example and archive could be growing up in the 1930s. Most people have an archive of family photos, which could be refined further through just choosing photos of one person or event. Artists can take inspiration from archives for example taking images that contrast or show a change, or perhaps a commentary on the change.
For this project the brief was to take a photo from my own archive and remake it. the current situation made this a challenge so I chose a photo, that I have have retaken several times showing of bikes on a cycling holiday.
Though the subject is always the same with two bikes, the setting changes, changes in bike design over the years (and our move from mountains bikes to road bikes) can be seen.
The purpose of this exercise is to appropriate other sources of images, making you think more critically about your selection. The theme choice was frost, which produced a wide array of frosty landscapes, trees, and snow scenes. I selected close up images that show the beauty of plants and trees in cold weather. Another unifying feature was in the choice of pastel colours, some images were rejected due to their bright colours.
These responses relate to Suite Venitienne,1979 by Sophie Calle. In this work she followed a stranger from Paris to Venic, documenting her trip with photographs.
Morally I think it is wrong to follow a stranger to make photographs in this way. However, our world in 2020 with GDPR is a completely different place from 1979. Today, permissions to take photos in a work or study setting are required. If a photo is taken in the street, you would be asked for a model release form if you wanted to sell it commercially.
I love the idea of an adventure that would give me a different position that I am used to for making photos. There are lots of opportunities for this and photography tours are based on this desire to take photographs in a different way or setting. It is also equally rewarding to research and plan a personal trip. For example visiting a new place. On my wishlist is a visit to Vancouver, though in the current situation this could be years away so I will plan something closer to home finding new places to explore and enjoy finding different approaches to shoot places that visit regularly.
Taking a job to give me access to a certain subject that I wouldn’t have access to is an interesting proposition. A better way of looking at this is perhaps volunteering, as that can give you access to different people and places.
I like the curiosity and sense of chance that must have been felt in the creation of Calle’s work and wonder if the final images are just a by product of her artistic urge.
An interesting question, as to me a photograph is always an illusion no matter how it is taken, you are getting either a record in pixels of what is captured or an artistic interpretation of the subject. An illusion is something that isn’t actually real. An image or printed photo can be real in its own right, but it is always a representation of an object or subject.
The project is to use perspective, light and focus to create an image that is obvious to the viewer that it the subject is a representation of pixels, without faking the image.
The images below, both make use of a long shutter speed and zoom blur to create the sense of movement.
This exercise started with considering a familiar environment and how we tend to ignore or not see certain things in them. Looking at thins we are used to seeing and then removing them changes the ambience. mood and intention of the photo.
The photos below are of my desk at home where since lockdown I spend most of my day. The image on the left is set up for work with two laptops, monitor and mic (the webcam is out of view) and definitely my workplace. This is my personal response, but by removing my work laptop and anything connected with delivering live sessions on Zoom, I can reclaim the space for my own creative use. To me the two images create a different mood contrasting the restrictions of work and the potential of free time.
Going beyond the initial exercise, I looked at how absence or presence in a different setting can affect the mood or meaning of an image. The two images of the beach at Fraisthorpe, provide a contrast by the presence and absence of the wind surfer. Though the first image has a sense of space and calmness, the second image is more ambiguous with just the sand, sea and has no sense of scale evoking a feeling of timelessness. The second image is my favourite and is one that captures my attention by the absence of direction.
I also looked at two photos from St Aiden’s Nature Reserve. In these, the removal of the heron completely changes the intention of the image. In the first image I am drawn to the different layers, and shades of green and brown grass and reeds blowing in the wind moving from the sharp foreground into the blurred background. The second image captures the stillness of the heron in its natural habitat, which is always my preference for wildlife photos. Though not the purpose of the exercise, I do find the yellow distracting at the top of the image and if this image was not being used for comparison would consider further editing.
My final pair of images strikingly show the difference of an standard image of an horse in a field transformed into a portrait by the use of photoshop, textures, and creative use of brushes and paint. In this instance less is definitely more.
The exercise, has been thought provoking and I enjoyed exploring beyond the initial brief. Not all the images are things I would usually publish, but they do show my thought processes. The absence of an obvious subject can completely alter the interpretation of an image and draw people into the image. By manipulating the content of an image (either physically or digitally) the meaning can be altered. My biggest learning points from this exercise are the importance of composition in capturing the mood you want create, and how in some instances less can create a more intriguing and engaging image.
The image above is my response to the work of André Kertész, and his image Fork, Paris, 1928, shown below. (Huxley-Parlour, n.d.).
My preparatory work for this assignment can be viewed in my learning log https://wordpress.com/view/karenfip.home.blog. My work included trying to recreate the image above. Though a pastiche, it was a challenging, but extremely valuable exercise making me aware of the importance of composition and how the placement of the smallest object can have and impact on the overall image. My aim was for my final image was to create an photograph with the following characteristics
Simplicity
Creative use of light
Composition creating patterns and shapes
Light and Shadow
Contrast
When researching the work of Kertész, I discovered his work with mirrors and distorting the image and wanted to build this into my emulation. My final image was created in two stages using the shot image below, which was then edited in Photoshop using the distort (shear) filter. Rather than using shadows and a strong light, in this image, the patterns and shapes are created through reflection. The forks are placed on a mirror, with a blue translucent sheet of plastic (bought from an art shop) held above for the colour and reflection. Taken in a conservatory with natural light, the forks reflections show the lines of the window frames, adding interest to the image.
Some of my experiments with the distort filter are shown below
Co-ordinates
Ripple
Shear
Twirl
Pinch
Wave
My final image, though inspired by Kertész, feels like it is very much my own. As in previous assignments, the preparatory work as allowed me to develop from a starting point and create work of a higher standard.
I build in reflection to my creative practice throughout the process. My development points from my third assignment, have informed my responses to the points to consider in this exercises
Points to consider
Areas to develop
Continue to develop my knowledge of the work of other photographers
Look at how other art forms influence photography
Create more regular learning log posts to consolidate my learning and research (approximately 500 words per post).
Research the use of flash.
Plan how I will communicate my ideas to models I am working with.
Ambiguity can be good, the photos should be able to speak for themselves without being over reliant on descriptive titles or text.
To continue to get feedback on my work from a range of people including my tutor, fellow students, and other people (including photographers and non photographers).
My tutor recommended the book, Light, Science & Magic, an Introduction to Photographic Lighting, as lighting is a recurring point.
In addition, I am also reading, Langford’s Basic Photography.
Both of these books are more technical than my previous reading, explaining why things work in a certain way. For example how light is reflected in different ways depending on the surface. They are a useful next step in developing my knowledge.
2. What type of photographs do I want to take
A difficult question, I am drawn to many different types of photography, but as I progress through the course I am interested in images that have pattern and shape, with creative use of light and shadow. This could be still life, architecture, landscape. Fine art photography, mixed media, and abstract are other interests.
3. Photographers who interest me
André Kertész
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Rui Veiga
Valda Bailey
Matthieu Venot
Ola Kolehmainen
4. Key elements
Creative use of light
Patterns and shapes
Light and Shadow
An exploration of colour
Intentional Camera Movement
Contrast
5. One key photo to use in Exercise 4.8
Research into the photographers mentioned above will be ongoing and posted in my learning log.
André Kertész: Fork, Paris 1928 (Huxley-Parlour, N.D.)
There are many images to choose from. I chose this image for its simplicity and a starting point to explore further some of the techniques used by Kertész in the next exercise. This also supports my aim to learn more about different techniques of lighting.
This exercise provided opportunity to experiment and though these images are not a complete photomontage, I developed skills using layers, blending modes, and cutting out, combining unusual objects to create images that have an element of surrealism.
The image, Life and Death, was the most challenging as this uses a shoot from a bush with the stem joined onto the trunk of an upturned dead tree giving the impression of roots. The final image, Window of Stories, uses a beautiful window with different coloured panes of glass as the back ground. As a development it would be interesting to use something like this as a frame for a series of images.All of these images gave me the opportunity to create something that was slightly unusual and would make the viewer look twice, and play with expectations.
One of my aims when starting this course was to develop my skills in Photoshop and through this and exercise 4.4 I have extended the range of creative opportunities for my work.
Time Flies, Apple Surprise and, Life and DeathWindow of Stories
The exercise was to create a photomontage using images from magazines or newspapers. A google search for photomontage opened a whole range of ideas beyond the scope of the exercise, including cutting, and weaving paper.
The following surreal, and to me unsettling image, provokes thoughts of hidden mental health issues. People on the outside can put up a front of everything being fine, whilst in reality they are struggling. consists of a woman (from a Specsavers Brochure) and a photo of spring blossom cut into strips. From this short experiment, I can see the value of photomontage to create a message or commentary in a different way from a standard photo. In the image below though the subject is conflicted. The outward appearance does not reflect what is happening internally
Inner Turmoil
This is only an exercise, but to develop this work in the future I would experiment more with the cuts of the paper. How the subject is cut out, and having more separation in areas of the face. The woven paper on the right-hand side, is perhaps unnecessary and looses the strength of vertical strips.
Following on from this, I decided to experiment with paper weaving two identical photographs. As with the exercise above this requires more work, but overall this has been thought provoking project considering what types of image would work well together, and thinking about how an image is constructed, and how the elements work together.
Karen Gourlay: Foundations in Photography 