Work record three

Research plan

• Reflections
• Windows
• Town centre

Contact sheets

My best images

This was taken outside of my house as I was waiting for my mum. This was clearly taken from the inside of the car but the focus and aperture of the camera allowed me to capture everything so the image can create a better scene than if one part was in focus. I like how you can't see my reflection in the window and car mirror because there is no distraction of a person in it and the photo concentrates on the rain. I will attempt to edit some more rain drops on the window just to make the rain look more dramatic.

This was taken on the way to town and the rain was clearing up. I took this opportunity and opened the window and captured this image. In this image I wanted the focus to be on the car mirror so you can see the cars behind. I like that you can still see what's in front as well. For me this represents how you can always look back and see your past but just know that in front of you is a great future and your in the middle of it all.

These are the gates to the private car park of the Harlow Playhouse. I knew I wanted to capture this because it is barred off and no one can enter unless permitted. This can present temptation as people may want to climb over just to see why they can't go in there and want to explore. 

This is of a convex mirror which makes realistic things more bold. This was around the same area as the Harlow Playhouse. I managed to get the decisive moment of this woman walking past, which makes the image more interesting. This was taken using F16, ISO 800 which I think were the right settings to use because the darkness of the leaves behind the mirror has made the colours of the mirror more noticeable and vibrant.

Images that require improvement

This image was taken using F22, ISO 800 - these settings were clearly not the best. The sky was quite bright therefore my settings did not match the actual scenery. The rest of the image is decent, the frame is the walkway with the people walking away from the camera, the landscape is the main reason I photographed this image. The frame is not very clear another reason why this is an image that needs improvement.

This image needs improvement because it was not taken with a tripod and so the composition is off. There is a lot happening in this image so it can get confusing as to what it is that I am photographing, the frame intended for this image is the arch or short underpass through the building. I didn't concentrate on the composition that much in this image which is disappointing because this would have been a really good image.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

In this shoot I have focused on photographing up the town centre, because it is very large and is a basis for photography. It is easier for me to concentrate on one area to take photos as this allows me to know exactly what I want to photograph and there is a wide range of buildings, etc to photograph in the town centre that I have attempted to photograph. I feel I could taken photos of more buildings and shops to show there doorways and what they are selling.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used a Samsung NX20 20.3 MP SLR. I focused on my photographer research of Lee Friedlander as my journey consisted of being in a car. I took photos as we started the car journey to town and then I carried on when I was in the town centre, the photos consisted of reflections which was another main focus for this shoot. Most of my images are good quality which I am pleased with the quality of these images. Even though I did not use a tripod, the majority of my images have good composition which I am pleased with.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

As I focused on reflections for this shoot you can see the framing device very clearly. The few that weren't my best were the ones that were blurred, the aperture was incorrect and the composition was off - these are easily fixable things that I am able to correct for my next shoot. I feel need to experiment more with the photographs physically (not just on photoshop), for example: I could print of a photograph i've taken, manipulate it and then take it back to its original place or a contrasting place - this will show off my experimentation and progress.

Progression section

This shoot I wanted to concentrate on my journey from home to the town centre - and too capture aspects of town. I then edited a few of my images to show how I further my creativity and show I am improving. I captured different parts of the town centre that I don't think I have photographed before, this work record for me is too experiment more with my edits, so I captured quite basic photos and then edited them in specific to make them look more interesting. I had a variety of images, that were all taken up town. Too improve on this shoot I think I could have captured more photos so I can have more of a wider range of choices to present and edit. I also could have taken images of more shop windows, etc because then this would present an aesthetic and pattern. How I edited an image & why:

 These screenshots show I edited my final image (left). For this image I was inspired by one of the images I found while researching Lee Friedlander (see in photographer research - WHITNEY MUSEUM, NEW YORK). In this image he has combined two images together which is what I have done here. I was inspired by this because I think the concept is very interesting. In my final edit I have an image of the inside of a bridge and what is viewed when you look outside of the bridge - so you get two views in one image. I kept the colours of the inside vibrant as that would be what it would like originally so it contrasts with the dimness of the outside. The editing process took time because I kept going wrong or the settings on the filters weren't what I wanted - I took my time to get it how I wanted it so it looks creative.

The first annotated image is an analysis of the image I have shown here in this section. This edit was too show what I can do with my photoshop skills and how I can interpret an idea from one photographer and make it my own. In the analysis I explain what I did to get my final edit. I believe I have achieved a similar yet different edit to Lee Friedlander, it would be similar as he was the inspiration for this edit but I have made it my own by using a different scenery and different editing techniques. I have succeeded the editing skill of blending two images together.

The second annotated image is an edit inspired by Alex Webb - ST PETERSBURG FLORIDA, 1989. In this Alex Webb image the whole photograph is red, this might be the natural lights from inside what seems to be a restaurant but it may be edited slightly so the red is more powerful. I have done similar to this but the tint is more shallow and lighter - an experimentation. The tint is a little less obvious but I didn't want it to be too much and make the image bad, with what I have done the image looks good and fascinating.

Edited images

Comparisons

My work -- Alex Webb

This was taken in the town centre, in Topshop (clothing store). This was taken on the second floor of the store and I took it so the viewer is looking down onto the bottom floor. I was inspired by this Alex Webb image because I liked how the whole image is one colour and is dimmed - so I wanted to achieve something similar to this. The framing device is different but that's what makes mine different to Alex Webb's. 

My work -- Image bank (google images)

This was taken near the Harlow Playhouse. I was influenced by the image bank photo, I was interested in the concept of framing a person in something man made. In my image I have framed the man in the poles as he walks past. My image shows a man walking towards the camera, I managed to capture him before he walked out of frame.

Work record two

Research plan

• Walking home from college
• Park photoshoot
• Framing a person
• Reflections (Lee Friedlander)

Contact sheet

 

My best images

This image was taken near the town centre where there are many houses and I took the opportunity to photograph this gate because of the details on the gate and how its surrounded by plain space. I did not use a tripod for this image as I was walking home from college and I did not have a tripod with me. This type of image was inspired by John Swarkowski and one of the images I presented in my other post. To edit this image I will make it black and white to emphasise the texture and pattern in this image, I will also crop and rotate it so it is more straight and centred.

This was taken around the same time as the previous one. This is a walkway, I presume it's a shortcut to get to another row of houses. I found this interesting as it is symmetrical - there is a white door on either side and the tunnel is perfectly in the middle, however I did not have my tripod so it is a bit off-centre and slightly lop-sided. This was inspired by my image bank because it includes lots of bridges and arches, etc so this photograph fits into that area. To edit this image I will darken it so it looks more intense and interesting, I will use the dodge and burn tool to make some areas more noticeable.

 This image was inspired by Lee Friedlander and his 'car' photography. This was taken just outside the Harlow town park where cars are able to park and I took photos of the car side mirrors, because I had an idea in my mind. This idea was to put my own image in the mirror, which is different to what was already in the mirror. The mirror is the frame. To edit this image I will choose a second photo to blend onto the mirror surface and edit it to the point where it seems realistic. 

This was taken in the adventure playground, in the town park. This is my cousin who I told to sit on the bench and just go on her phone as if I wasn't there, to create a sense of not knowing that she's being photographed. The frame of this image is the centring of the bench in front of the hill that seems to be perfectly curved above the bench. 

This was taken in the town park and I saw this old couple walking their dog and I took the opportunity to just take a picture and see what came out of it, I was able to get this image and I really like it. It looks very romantic because the tree is perfectly framed over the couple. This image was inspired by my image bank and the concept of photographing unknown people. To edit this image I will possibly enhance the saturation or darken the image, I will also use the spot-healing tool to clean it up.

Images that require improvement

I did use a tripod for this image but the lighting is not the best. I feel if I got a different angle then maybe there wouldn't be this type of lighting, but this image is not good. This would have been a very creepy image to capture because its a strange alleyway leading to somewhere unknown but I did not capture that. If I were to reshoot this image I would change the settings around to try and work with the natural lighting.

This was also taken with a tripod but the lighting is the disadvantage again. I like the natural settings of the boys near the pond and the woman waiting for her dog so she can continue walking but the lighting is not that appropriate. This was inspired by my image bank. If I were to reshoot this image I would (just like the previous image) work with the lighting and my settings.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

When photographing for my second shoot I wanted to concentrate on the environment and the things surrounding the environment at that moment, and I feel I have done that. For this shoot the problems that I faced was the natural lighting and not being able to get the best images due to that. However, most of my images came out how I wanted it as I knew what I wanted to photograph.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

I used a Samsung NX20 20.3 MP SLR and used a tripod for most of these images, which made a difference. I wanted to focus on what I researched on as well as taking photographs of what I thought was fascinating to me. I started photographing as I walked home and took pictures that appealed to me and that I thought was a framing device. As I started taking photographs of my subject and around that time I started using my tripod and the images I produced are quite clear. By using the tripod I was able to concentrate on what I was photographing more and not feel rushed to take the photograph, which shows in my work.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

For this shoot, I feel my photography does represent framing devices, however some of my images are not how I wanted them to turn out. The images that didn't turn out right were the ones that didn't have the right settings or the lighting was off, these are all things I could have corrected then and there (unless it was the natural lighting) - but what I see on the camera screen is not always what appears on the computer, as it may look better on the camera. My image bank was more of an inspiration for this shoot as not many of my researched photographers had photos of trees, etc. So I looked more at my image bank as there was a wide range.

Progression section

Shoot two was for me to see what I am able to capture from what was already there and the world's natural materials (trees, etc) - I used my cousin as my subject because she came round and I needed to do the rest of my shoot, so I asked her to come with me. The images I captured were all different unless I needed to take multiple photos in order to have a selection, there is a wide range of images that I can relate back to my researched photographer and image bank. Too improve on this shoot I would take more photos of the objects and things that I thought were not exactly a framing device because I could have used photoshop and edited it in a way so it is a framing device. From the experience I had in this shoot with the natural lighting, in the next shoot I will try to work with it and change my settings to get the best out of the scenery. How I edited an image & why: 

These screenshots show how I achieved my final edit (on the left). For this image I was inspired by Lee Friedlander and his photographs that he took whilst he was in the car, I found his work very fascinating and unique because I've never seen another photographer do something like it. So I felt the need to try and either recreate his work or create my own type of his photography. The final edit of this image turned out well as it looks like a reflection, which was my intention. The background and the reflected image contrasts each other as one is light and sunny, whereas the other is dark which creates this effect of what is seen on one side is not always the same on the other side.

The annotated image is an analyse of my editing and why I did so. I wanted this edit to seem unique and an original idea because it was an idea that came to my mind as I photographed this image. I have obtained the basic idea of Lee Friedlander's photography, however I did not use the black and white filter like he has. This was a long process because I wanted it too look roughly like a reflection and in that time I experimented with the other filters and see how I can make it look different. In the my annotations screenshot I explain how I achieved this final edit - the editing consisted of pasting a new image the base image and cropping it to the suitable size and I concentrated on the editing of the mirror image.

The second annotated image is of my door photograph that was inspired by John Swarkowski. This image was photographed to be like John Swarkowski and the image I have presented in a different post. I did this because I like how he made the door look lonesome and deserted as if there was nothing else surrounding it and I wanted to achieve a similar effect. The editing process allowed me to experiment with how much I can add to one image before it becomes too tacky and not appealing.

In the third shoot I will be focusing on the town centre and what the area gives to the people, eg. Shops and beautiful scenery. I will be using a tripod to make my images not shaky and blurry. I will also focus on my settings so they are appropriate for where I am.

Edited images

Comparisons

My work --- John Swarkowski

The image on the left was taken on the outskirts of the town centre where there are many houses. As I saw this gate I instantly thought of this John Swarkowski image and wanted to recreate this style. I feel I have captured a similar essence of this photograph. I linked these two images as they are of the same style and I was inspired by this specific photographer image.

My work --- Lee Friedlander

When researching Lee Friedlander I found his work very unique and I was very inspired by this. I wanted to photograph something similar to this image presented here (inside the photograph) but i wanted to put my own aspect on it - so I photographed the car mirror and added a different photo into the mirror.