My Reflective Journal: January 2016

Post Crit Edits

16:53

Following our crit on Thursday where it was suggested to me that I straighten any major geometric shapes in my images of the skateboarders I took in Barcelona. After looking back at my original images I can't believe I didn't spot how wonky they were and it really bugs my inner OCD. I put together some of the images I edited side my side to see the difference. Although the framing crops the images slightly its a good way to see the difference.

Here is an example of trying different crops to place emphasis on the subject more as the pole behind was a distraction to the skateboard.

Here I have straightened the lines in the wall behind the boarder.

Here I have changed the crop of the image slightly to get rid of the empty space on the right of the image.

Here I have changed the apparent sloping of the windows.

And said the pole was very significant and tells many stories and makes the photograph far more interesting. I prefer the crop of this image and the new alignment of the shapes in the wall.

Another example of a slight change of shape.

In the photograph I presented in my crit, I had removed another skater from the shot, however Andi commented on how he liked having multiple skaters in the shot as they interact and form a dynamic in the shot, so whilst straightening the background, I added him back in.

Group Crit 28/01/16

19:00

In our group crit this week I presented my images of skateboarders which I took in Barcelona last week.

Andi wasn't sure if he was overly keen on the two images I had of the guys sat down rather than up and skateboarding. The purpose of these images was to show the lifestyle and I really liked the skaters sat relaxing as well as boarding. It helps to show another side of what they were doing and I had envisioned an image of them sat down next to a photo of one of them boarding. Below is an example of what I had in mind. Although the crop is tighter than the original images and how they would look printed its a simple mock up to illustrate my ideas.

I think the concept works well and the two photographs side by side work better than individually as they begin to tell a narrative.

I chose to include the image of the skater on his phone as it displays more personality and a small glimpse into his life rather than what he does.

Another point Andi raised about my work is that the geometric shapes and lines contained in the images weren't always straight and that fixing that will have a huge impact on them. I plan to fix this and will show adjustments in a follow up post.

Workshops

Workshop Week 17

22:00

This week we focused on using different colour backgrounds and how we can achieve this effect from using purely a white colourama and munipulating the lighting.

We were tasked to produce the following:

1. An image with an evenly lit white background
2. An image with an evenly lit black background
3. An image with an evenly lit mid-grey background
4. An image with an evenly lit one-colour background
5. An image with a graduated one colour background

1/125 f/5.6 ISO 200 Canon 5D

"It is the photographers creative intention that determines how the image appears to a viewer, not the subject. How could you as a photographer use technique to affect your end result?"

Background colour alters the mood of an image and any subject will be manipulated in some way by the background colour it is presented infront of. And in addition, in camera aspects such as changing aperture and shutter speed will alter the way a image is perceived; A very large aperture used when taking a will feel very personal and intimate whereas a smaller aperture will feel more relaxed.

Barcelona II

18:19

A few more images from our trip to Barcelona last week, I don't take photos of strangers very often but I really like the first image below, the red of his tshirt and the mo-ped outside really brought out the colours of the interior and the accents of the lights above him, and the leading lines towards the subject, I could see the perfect shot straight away.

I absolutely adored the fashion photography gallery which showcased a collection of work from many different modern and historical photographers.

Barcelona

18:09

After just getting back from a lovely week in Barcelona I've realised I have a lot of work to buckle down and get done. A couple of the highlights for me were re-visiting my favourite places in Barcelona; I had previously been in the May of 2013, which included the colourful market which I fell in love with once more. I also really enjoyed looking round the galleries which, despite costing more in entry fees than a meal out there, I took a lot from and inspired me to take more pictures in a somewhat creative slump I felt I was in prior to the trip.

Barcelona Beach 20/1/16

Inspiration from unlikely places

13:49

My latest inspiration has come from a Sharwoods advert; 'Bring on the colour'.
During my post Barcelona blues and binge watching friends, this very colourful advert instantly reminded me of the colour of the fruit stalls at La Boqueria Mercat.

I love the vibrancy and the colour scheme of the entire advert, and I would love to do a still life or a fashion or beauty image with this much colour and life.

Richard Allen

11:01

Richard Allen is the sports photographer who shot the Reebok campaign featured in Britain's Next Top Model Cycle 10 Episode 2. I really like his style and the way he lights and composes his images.

I particularly like the last two images here. The darker lit backgrounds mean that the focus of the viewer is on the subject, and their expression. Both images look very considered and have a reflective feel to them. I plan to try and shoot in the studio to achieve similar lighting, as this will play a very big role in trying to portray my chosen archetype through the photograph.

Initial Inspiration and reference images for D&AD

10:41

These were the initial images which inspired my direction of sports photography for the D&AD New Blood brief, after deciding that this would be a good direction for my work. I really like the lighting of this collection of images and the determination they all contain. They all look like images which would inspire me to better myself physically, which is an effect I want my images to have on people.

Sports Photography

22:00

Whilst watching Britain's next top model this evening, as I do religiously every Thursday, this weeks photoshoot was for Reebok. I really liked the shots produced and the concept, sports photography, appealed to me as something which would fit really well with the D&AD New Blood brief which we had been given and I was struggling with for ideas. There are endless possibilities with Sports photography and I have never tried it before. I think this could be a really goof direction for me to go in and research further.

Second Brief of BA1b

09:46

Today we were given our second brief of BA1b, an external brief provided by D&AD for Shutterstock, a Stock photography, Stock footage and Stock music provider based in the US.

The brief was to produce a set of three images, all conveying a certain archetype in everyday life. The seven archetypes given are the seven building blocks to any story, and can create any narrative. They were:

OverComing the Monster
Tragedy
Comedy
Rebirth
Voyage and Return
The Quest
Rags to Riches

Key Points from the brief:

Our three images have to work well as a narrative as all three as well as individually.
We need to produce a 30 second video in addition to our images with some background info.
Our three entries can be static or moving image.

Nothing has really stood out to me a yet and I will need to brainstorm more ideas, but the archetypes that seem to work together are Voyage and Return, The Quest and Overcoming the Monster, and I could photograph some form of journey.