Category: Part 4

The category containing all posts for part 4.

Part 4, Project 3, Exercise 4.4 : Personal Voice

Assessment Criteria : Creativity

Brief

Make a Google Images search for ‘landscape’, ‘portrait’, or any ordinary subject such as ‘apple’or ‘sunset’. Add a screengrab of a representative page to your learning log and note down the similarities you find between the images. Now take a number of your own photographs of the same subject, paying special attention to the ‘Creativity’ criteria at the end of Part One. You might like to make the subject appear ‘incidental’, for instance by using focus or framing. Or you might begin with the observation of Ernst Haas, or the ‘camera vision’ of Bill Brandt. Or if you’re feeling bold you might forget about your camera completely and think about the tricky question of originality in a different way – http://penelopeumbrico.net/index.php/project/suns/

Add a final image to your learning log, together with a selection of preparatory shots. In your notes describe how your photograph or representation differs from your Google Images source images of the same subject.

Research

When first looking at the breif and reading back through the text leading up to the brief, I felt as though I had not grasped what was asked of me. When looking at the work of Chris Steele-Perkins, seeing Mount Fugi photographed amongst everyday things, I felt as though something may have clicked.

[1] School Children Practice Baseball Between Gotemba and Fuginomiya 

My understanding now, is that I am being asked to look past what a Google search would show me for something which is photographed regularly, and look for a different way of capturing it. To look past the ordinary and create something new, or something from a different perspective.

From here I went on to look at Bill Brandt and what the course guide described as “camera vision”. Brandt often cropped his images down from the negatives, to enhance the structure within the frame. This was something that wasn’t really done as other photographers printed straight from negatives, no editing.

(Left) [2] Hadrian’s Wall (full frame), photograph by Bill Brandt, 1943. © Bill Brandt Archive Ltd. (Right) [3] Hadrian’s Wall (cropped view), photograph by Bill Brandt, about 1935. © Bill Brandt Archive Ltd.

Brandt was also known for using his family as the subjects in his photos. Therefore, creating his images rather than just capturing a moment. Which differs to the work previously looked at in part three by Henri Cartier-Bresson, who photographed exactly as he saw.

My approach

Originally, my plan was to capture ‘leaves’. I intended on capturing them with litter, to take away from the usual picture when doing a Google search. I uploaded these photos anyway, which can be found here. However, I thought I could create something better with this.

So, I then went on to do my photos of Himley Hall. When doing my Google search, much like the example of Mount Fugi in the course guide, the images were all the picture perfect, idealistic version of what people want to see. I’ve added my screen grabs below.

Screen grab [4]

I hadn’t planned to photograph Himley Hall for this exercise. But I took my daughter for a walk and I wondered why I hadn’t chose this as my subject. I had thought of Dudley Castle as a possibility as I liked the idea of changing what is the ‘expected’ of a place, in the same way Chris Steele-Perkins did with his collection of Mount Fugi.

Himley Hall is an 18th century building which sits amongst 180 acres of land. I have always loved walking around the grounds and taking in the views of the hall. I found the following on their website:

“Once the family home to the Earls of Dudley and host to royalty and high society, today it is a glamorous setting for civil wedding ceremonies and receptions and other special occasions as well as Indulgent Afternoon Teas, prestigious conference facilities and guided tours.” [5]

I felt the best way to get the right shots for this was to find the things within the grounds which obscure the views. Unlike Mount Fugi, Himley Hall cannot be seen from far away. I had to be within the grounds to take my photographs, however, there are plenty of things which would be avoided in the usual images of it on a google search such as bins and signage – in particular the signage to ask visitors to keep off the grass.

Contact Sheets

My work

There are a few images here I really liked to show the opposite of a Google search.

With a broken piece & a missing part of the low fence. Then an obscured view, this photo differs from the “postcard perfect” photos we are fed on google.
Extra bins available due to the influx of people visiting now we’re in lockdown. Not so pretty.
“Keep off”. Not the most inviting of images, unlike my Google search.

Reflection

I have always loved Himley Hall. With the grounds surrounding it, it’s the perfect place for a walk. Long or short, there are many paths to take. Some leading off in to the woods, a pathway around the lake and a general walk within the parkland.

I really enjoyed this project. It was really interesting to have to look at something I’ve seen so many times, with a fresh pair of eyes. I really liked looking for a shot which doesn’t necessarily take away from the hall, but shows that its not always green grass and blue skies.

I think this project could have also been really interesting if there had been more people around. I could have shown what it is really like when you turn up on a sunny weekend! The park gets so busy that warning signs have been put out due to covid-19 restrictions and for a time the park was closed.

References

Part 4, Project Three, exercise 4.3 : Egg or Stone

Ex Nihilo

Brief

Use a combination of quality, contrast, direction and colour to light an object in order to reveal its form. For this exercise, we recommend that you choose a natural or organic object such as an egg or stone rather than a man-made object. Man-made or cultural artefacts can be fascinating to light but they’re already authored to some degree, which requires interpretation by the photographer; this exercise is just about controlling the light to reveal form.
You don’t need a studio light for this exercise; a desk lamp or even window light will be fine, although a camera flash that you can use remotely is a useful tool. The only proviso is that you can control the way the light falls on the subject.
Take some time to set up the shot. If you’re shooting an egg, you should think about emptying it first so that it will stand up. This is really a topic for advanced students at Level 3 but you may get some help from Google. The background for your subject will be crucial.
For a smallish object, you can tape a large sheet of paper or card to the wall as an ‘infinity curve’ which you can mask off from the main light source by pieces of card. You don’t need to use a curve if you can manage the ‘horizon line’ effectively – the line where the surface meets background. Taking a high viewpoint will make the surface the background, in which case the surface you choose will be important to the shot.
Exposure times will be much longer than you’re used to (unless you’re using flash) and
metering and focusing will be challenging. The key to success is to keep it simple. The important thing is to aim for four or five unique shots – either change the viewpoint, the subject or the lighting for each shot.
Add the sequence to your learning log. Draw a simple lighting diagram for each of your
shots showing the position of the camera, the subject and the direction of the key light and
fill. Don’t labour the diagrams; quick sketches with notes will be just as useful as perfect graphics.

Research

As suggested, I had a look at the work of Jean Baptiste Huynh. Whilst looking through his collections, it surprised me that his work was mostly done with a black background. When originally reading this breif I had white backgrounds in mind, I think due to the focus on ‘light’ rather than thinking of lighting the object.

When looking through, I enjoyed how the plain background allowed me to focus on the subject being photographed without distraction by what else is going on in the frame. I particularly liked the collection, ‘meteorites (2007)’ as I think they gave me some context of what this exercise is asking of me. An example of the collection is below.

In this image, I particularly liked how the light shows the texture of the meteor. The light and shadow allow you to see the surface clearly. With no distraction from a busy background, my focus is solely on the meteor.

Meteorite 3, 2007

Approach

Before my research in to Jean Baptiste Huynh, I had only thought of using a stone with a smooth surface. I had originally thought I would use one I have in the house (due to lockdown, I’ve been collecting smooth rocks to paint!) However, the ‘meteorites’ collection showed me how an uneven surface can give very interesting results.

For the contact sheets below, I used a chair, with a black top tied around it – as it was the only thing I could think of in the house to create the infinity curve.

I set my camera infront of the chair on a tripod level to the chair. I used a 50mm lens. On the last few photos, I used some coloured filter lenses, they didn’t fit on the lens so I had to hold them in front. I set the camera to a 2 second timer to capture the image to reduce any shake.

My set up.
Three filters I used & the strip light. I also used the torch from my phone.

My work

F/22 – 1″ – ISO 640
F/10 – 1/6s – ISO 500
F/10 – 1/6s – ISO 3200
F/22 – 1/1s – ISO 3200

Reflection

This exercise wasn’t as I expected. I thought I’d enjoy it more. Perhaps thats my own fault and I needed to be more creative? Or perhaps the point was to create an exercise which just gives us a chance to try something out that someone like me- an amateur- would probably not have tried to photograph before.

I found trying to keep note of the lighting positions quite difficult. The breif asked us to do a basic drawing of our set up. But each photo meant a change to capture something different. That’s a lot to take note of if taking quite a few photos. Maybe it was more about quality than quantity.

I tried to create something different within the frames by changing the position of the stone and using coloured filters. I used 2 light sources which I think worked to give me different effects.

If I were to try this again, I would try a variation of different ‘stones’ and maybe try this in a darkened room to put the emphasis on the artificial light.

To do this exercise, the only thing I had to create the black background was a top. This is also something I’d change if doing this again. The top did not give a smooth background. Although I’m the shots I’ve chosen, I’m hoping that’s not too obvious. If I were to do it again, I would go out to purchase a large sheet of card to create rhe background. I would probably also try different colours.

Having said that, this exercise for me, was to explore the possibility to light something myself. Its not something I have attempted before as I’ve mainly used natural light. The exercise gave me the reason to give this style of photography a go, which I may never have done if I had not taken on this course.

References

Part 4, Project Two

The beauty of artificial light.

Exercise 4.2 : Artificial light

Brief

Capture ‘the beauty of artificial light’ in a short sequence of shots (‘beauty’ is, of course, a subjective term). The correct white balance setting will be important; this can get tricky -but interesting – if there are mixed light sources of different colour temperatures in the same shot. You can shoot indoors or outside and the light can be ambient or handheld flash.
Add the sequence to your learning log. In your notes try to describe the difference in the quality of light from the daylight shots in Exercise 4.1.

Research

When reading through project two, I followed the link suggested for Sato Shintaro’s “Night Light” photography. I found the set quite inspiring. I really liked how the photos are so bright with colour, yet you can see the darkness of the night surrounding the artificial light. This collection straight away made me excited to start this project. Although, a little concerned that this kind of light could not be found local to me. Especially with lockdown still in place, much of the high street has been closed and I’m unsure how much of it remains that way. An example of Shintaro’s work is below. It reminds me of graphic novels, perhaps due to me working in a book store for over 11 years! It also reminded me of the work of Andy Warhol.

[1] 21 Night Lights

How would I describe the image?

  • Bright
  • Bold
  • Colourful
  • Shades of pink
  • Busy
  • Full
  • Arty
  • Luminous
  • Theatrical
  • Pop art

I also looked in to the work of Rut Bleed Luxemburg. I was surprised to find it completely the opposite of Shintaro’s work. Considering they have both photographed artificial light, they are so different.

While Shintaro’s “Night Light” has big, bold, stand out colours, Luxemburg’s photography is much more subtle, golden & quiet.

[2] Narrow Stage, 1998 © Rut Blees Luxemburg

The main thing that stood out to me about the photographs in this article, was how quiet they are. They were taken in London. When I think of London, ‘quiet’ is not a word which comes to mind. I think of a busy, thriving city. I have only been to London a couple of times, but whilst there, even in the parks, I didn’t think of it as quiet. This, again, shows me lighting can change everything from how you think of a place, to the mood of a photograph, to changing our perceptions/ expectations of a place.

Contact Sheets

My work

One. F/22 – 1/13 – ISO 3200
Two. F/29 – 1/4s – ISO 3200
Three. F/29 – 3″ – ISO 3200
Four. F/10 – 1″ – ISO 1000
Five. F/10 – 1″ – ISO 2000
Six. 1F/10 – 1″ – ISO 1000

In photo one, I particularly liked the little star of light that has appeared in one of the gaps in the shade. I was really drawn to it when first viewing the photo, I ike that it gives that ‘ping of light. This lamp gives off a striped effect, which lights the room well. In comparison to the photos I took in the woods, where there were pockets of light, this light is also quite harsh in the centre as the bulb is bright. However, the light given off has more structure, whereas the sunshine moved throughout the trees changing as it did so.

In photos Two and Three, i wanted to capture the bedside lamps. Such an ordinary thing to turn on each night/ morning. But I’ve never really considered the light they give off.

I’m pleased with photos Five and Six. I like the colour the candle gives off. Because the candle and the whiskey have the same golden brown tones, i think they mix well to give a really soft glow. The light feels really smooth, like honey. In comparison to my photos of natural daylight, these are much more subtle and have a greater romance to them.

Reflection

In this exercise I would have loved to go out and capture artificial light on the streets. I was really enthused by the work of Sato Shintaro. All the colours within one frame and such a bold collection. Unfortunately with a very small baby, and lockdown limiting whats open & their opening hours, it feels outdoor night photography is a little out of my reach at the moment. Perhaps this is something I can have another look at in the future.

I actually quite enjoyed photographing the candle & whiskey. I wasn’t trying to create the perfect image, just show the light. Looking at the photographs afterwards, I found myself thinking image Five had a lovely light around the base of the bottle which would look better cropped…

I enjoyed finding things around the house to photograph for this exercise. Its just difficult finding time to photograph in the hours when it is dark at the moment. There is still natural light outside until after 20.30. But the street lights have gone off by the time baby wakes at around 06.00. This is an exercise I would probably enjoy looking at again in the future if I had more time to explore it properly.

References

[1] Sato Shintaro, (2020), night lights. At: http://sato-shintaro.com/work/night_lights/index.html (Accessed 23/06/20).

[2] Hannah Abel-Hirsch (2018). ‘London: A visual love song’ In: British Journal of Photography (23/02/2018). At: https://www.bjp-online.com/2018/02/rut-blees-luxemburg-modern-project-liebeslied/

Part 4, Project one.

Layered, complex and mysterious.

Exercise 4.1 : Daylight

Brief

Taking the photography of Mann, Atget or Schmidt or a photographer of your own
choosing as your starting point, shoot a number of photographs exploring the quality of natural light. The exercise should be done in manual mode and the important thing is to observe the light, not just photograph it. In your learning log, and using the descriptions above as your starting point, try to describe the quality of the light in your photographs in your own words.

Research

As recommended in the course guide, for this exercise, I looked at the work of Eugene Atget. Two examples were given within the quote about his work. These are the ones I looked at to see the difference in his approach.

Environs, Amiens – Eugene Atget [1]

In the photograph above, so much light is in this frame. Washington’s National Gallery of Art is quoted as saying Atget “sought to illuminate
his subject with an even clarity, the best to convey information. He
usually made such images – see, for example, Environs, Amiens – in the middle of the day, when shadows were minimal.”

Parc de Sceaux – Eugene Atget [2]

“Parc de Sceaux” has such a different feel to “Environs, Amiens”. Although by the same photographer, and an outdoor photograph. This comparison really shows to me how much different light can change a photograph. One shows a bright scene, no shadows, very clear view, easy to see what’s within the frame. However, the second, shows a more shaded photo. No bright, harsh light. Perhaps helped by the shade from the trees. But, still, the subject is clear to see.

Whilst looking on YouTube for tips on how to get the best from daylight photography, I came across a British photographer, Bob Holmes. Holmes explains he has been labelled as a travel photographer due to his work for magazines such as national geographic. However, he describes himself as taking all kinds of photos, for example portraits, whilst capturing images for travel and therefore describes himself as a documentary photographer.

I watched some YouTube videos and had a look through his Instagram account. The videos gave me a lot of information about capturing natural light at it’s best. These are some of the tips I picked up (as quotes from the videos) ;

  • “learn to see as the camera sees” [3]
  • “Scan the edges of the frame” [4]
  • “Learn by taking photographs” [5]
  • “When you’re looking at the back of your camera, you’re missing the photograph in front of you” [5]
  • “Be conciously aware of anything you are looking at” [5]

I found reference 6 and 7 most helpful. The notes I made from [6] are:

“Know what you want to shoot and do it quickly” – lighting changes quickly.
“You can almost shoot anything, in any lighting conditions, without using flash” – with modern cameras.
Keep ISO as low as possible. But use a higher ISO in darker scenes instead of flash.
“People photography isn’t just about faces”
“Portrait isn’t all about a face”
“Think. Shoot intelligently.”
“Learn to look at light. Learn how your camera reacts to it”
“In photography you need to practice as much as learning to play a musical instrument”

The notes I made from reference [7] are:

“Rather than light someone, I move them to the light”.
Use a newspaper to bounce some light back.
Bright sunlight – shoot into the sun.
Golden hours – when sunlight/moonlight is the “prettiest”
Blue hour – after the sun has gone down
Decisive moment – “more important when you have small figures” within a frame. “you have to make sure that peoples legs are apart or thier arms are apart. Look for that little gesture”. Decisive moment exists in everything, even portraiture.

Vinales_012016_9545.jpg – Vinales, Cuba, tobacco farming in the Vinales Valley. [8]

The image above was taken in sunlight. With the person moved with his back to the sun. The image below was the image displayed when Holmes said he moves people to the light rather than artificially lighting them.

Vinales_012016_10075.jpg – Cuba, [9]

My Work

I took some photos of my daughter whilst she slept. On that day, the sky was overcast, but there was grey light coming in to the room. Even though the sky was dull, it still provided ample lighting to clearly show her sleeping face. The light was strong enough to produce quite harsh shadows next to her. I think the first photo works better as the light is more subtle than the second – the light there is quite harsh where she lays and her face seems unevenly lit.

  • 1
  • 2

Whilst walking round a local park, I took the opportunity to capture the light. On this day the weather was very changeable. When I arrived, there was light rain. This turned to a heavier rain, which then cleared up and the sun shone brightly. Giving me a great day to capture the different lighting upon a beautiful setting.

Photos 3 & 4 weren’t taken too far apart time wise, but there is quite a difference. Number 3 showing a grey reflection from an overcast sky, and number 4 showing a cloudy sky with bits of blue coming through. In both of these I liked the reflection of light across the water, particularly over the ripples from rain and movement of birds and perhaps fish which are not seen. Image 3 feels quite dull to me, like there’s a grey mist covering it. It feels lifeless. However image 4, perhaps if cropped, feels a little more alive. The flash of blue in the reflection gives a feel of a more summery day. The plants look more vibrant. The trees feel greener somehow.

  • 3
  • 4

In images 5 and 6, I stood for a while watching the sun take away the previous dullness. Spreading a warm glow over the land, with the trees providing a shelter. When looking back at these two photos side by side, I notice how the young girl on her bike basks in the dun while waiting for Dad to catch up to her, whilst the elderly couple who walked in the grounds took to the shade. The contrast between the sun and the shadows is quite harsh. There are obvious spots of more and less light. I like the framing of them together to show the difference the trees here can make. The 2 images would be quite different if they were all shade or all sun.

Image 5 was taken with the sun to my left. And image 6 with it from my right. You can see how that creates the darkness in the shadows, however, it must have been close above as the shadows don’t stretch out across the floor, unlike image 7.

  • 5
  • 6

Image 7 & image 9, again I took as the light has 2 totally different effects on what you see.

In image 7, I was interested in how the tree closest to the camera seems darker than the trees of the background. Perhaps due to the positioning of the sun, perhaps the colour of the trees themselves? With image 9 I really liked just how dark it was under that tree in comparison to the grass.

  • 7
  • 8
  • 9

In photos 10-16, I was happy to find parts of the woods which were only partly covered by the trees, allowing me to capture pockets of light rather than a completely sunlit/ shadowed frame. I like that the little amount of sunlight draws you in to the photo, creating a little mystery as you have to look for the part where the light is.

  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16

In image 17, I was drawn to the spiders web only because of how the sun had shone on it on this day. It made me wonder whether it had been there on the numerous times I’d walked past before, but I’d never noticed it? Having something in the foreground brighter than the background gives a part to focus on.

17

In the photos below, I remembered the video I watched with Bob Holmes. He was talking of the importance of looking at the whole frame when you take a photo. [4]. Just because there’s something you want to photograph, you have to look at the whole frame, not just the subject. That sprung to mind when taking these shots. I thought they were framed nicely. The day was bright and the fields lit evenly. Although, in image 18, it would be nicer without the post & cables through it.

  • 18
  • 19

Reflection

Photos 1-9 were taken on the same day. This wasn’t the aim of my walk on this day. However, I was really happy to find the changing weather allowed me to capture some different perspectives over the time I was there.

Photos 10-19 were taken in the same location but on different occasions. I find it quite helpful to revisit a place on different days / different times of day, especially when focusing on light, as that changes day by day, hour by hour, allowing me to see things which were not apparent to me before.

I enjoyed taking the time to look at the light, rather than looking for a photograph. I often get caught up in trying to take the nicest photo rather than looking to take the detail in.

Whilst taking photos for this, I was surprised to see how much a photo can change over a minute. On a day with weather like this, I felt I had to take the photo as I saw it before the light changed again.

As I wrote in my research, Bob Holmes said “Know what you want to shoot and do it quickly”. [6]. This is entirely true as weather is not something you can control.

This exercise has taught me to look a little more. Lighting is such a big part within a frame. Yes, it is important to get the right image and select the correct settings, however, good lighting makes such a difference.

References