Sunday 29 September 2013

My Favourite Portrait/Fashion Photographers/ Inspiration

As i shoot mainly Portraits i find my inspiration by looking at books and magazines, I am often inspired by other photographers work and this informs me when i think about what i want to shoot next.

Richard Avedon 

Richard Avedon is one of the main Fashion/ Portrait photographers i look up to, his images have not only inspired me but many generations of other photographers. His images are iconic and easily recognised for his style.



Tim Walker 

Tim walker is my All time favourite photographer, he is the photographer i find i am most inspired by. I love the creativity within his work and the imagination behind his ideas and images.

I also like how he is not afraid to be bold and 'weird' within Fashion Photography.

I cannot pick a favourite Picture of Tim Walkers because i simply like everything he creates Specially his book 'Story Teller'.






Lara Jade 

I find myself inspired by Lara Jade. I like her styling and
approach when taking a image she's not afraid to be creative in the genre of fashion photography. 







Emily Soto 

I also like Emily Soto for her creative approach to fashion and portrait photography. She's not afraid to Experiment with not only shooting her images but Photoshopping and editing to get the final image.

This image is my favourite of Emily Soto's because i think the dark mood of the image works well with not only the model but the location.

Friday 27 September 2013

Introduction into medium format photography, Darkroom processing and printing Learning journal

Working With Medium Format 

What we Took with us to shoot 
  • Bronica SQ-B
  • Sekonic Flashmate l-308b
  • Ilford Medium Format Film 
  • Tripod  

We were given the task to shoot portraits on a roll of medium format film however the portraits had to be of people who worked or lived in the town Rochester or Medway area.
We were told how to ask and approach potential people we wanted to photograph and what to say, when it came to speak to people in the town the information i was told was very vital and came in completely helpful.

I feel this brief allowed me and other students to have more confidence when asking people we do not know for a photograph.
It has also taught me and others how to use a medium format camera, i had previously used a Diana f+ camera which is medium format but had never worked with a Bronica before.
I found loading film into the camera fairly easy and similar to a Diana f+.
At first i found it hard to focus the camera and my first two test shots on my contact sheet prove this however after this all my images were in focus and it showed my progression through out the contact sheet at focussing the camera properly.
I also had a little trouble with the light meter at first also but however after a while of shooting it became easy. I found i didn't use the tripod we had took with us, i preferred to hold the camera instead.

Dark Room Processing 

After we had shot our film we were then taken into a dark room to process our film, i had experienced developing 35mm film myself in a dark room setting and was surprised that it was completely different and easier. Firstly in the darkroom we found our film and separated it from the paper that had previously kept out the light from exposing our film, punched a hole to add a attachment that then went into a developing black and white film machine.  
Here is a picture of my Negatives 

Printing 

The first thing we did before printing was to produce a contact sheet, this would help us decide what image we would want to print later on.
Contact Sheet 
After i had printed my contact sheet i chose a image i wanted to print and we were taught how to set up and use the enlargers. Once our enlargers were set up we did a few test pieces to get the right exposure times and also what grade we wanted to either add or take away contrast.


Here is a series of prints that i did first.
The left print was my very first full print, we then went on to learn how to add more contrast into the image and then that is how i ended up getting my third final print by adding more contrast.







My Second Prints

I then went on to do my second prints independently from the skills i had learnt earlier. The image also shows the stages i went through to get the final print.



All My Prints and Test Prints 


Test Prints And Negatives 



Tuesday 24 September 2013

'An Oak Tree in Winter' Research And Analysis

'An Oak Tree In Winter' by William Henry Fox Talbot. 


Oak trees are often symbolised throughout history as a sign of strength and great courage and also wise and humble throughout literature. When first analysing the image it is very clear that Henry Fox Talbot wanted the attention of the viewer on the 'Oak Tree', his composition and framing show this well, The tree is centre of the image and is also the boldest tree in the image, this demonstrates that he had thought about framing and decided to place the Oak Tree in the centre. He also choses to focus solely on the Oak tree and other trees in the background seem out of focus. There is no distracting or detailed sky behind the trees to distract the viewers attention and i feel the position that Talbot used emphasised the size and power of the tree.
There are small trees in the background i think Henry fox talbot could have done this purposely to compare the size of trees and once again how powerful and strong the oak tree is.

The Oak tree is also the national tree of england, Henry Fox Talbot's Image could have been related to his British routes and how he feels Britain is strong and powerful, this would have been important at the period of time the image was taken.


"A painter's eye will often be arrested where ordinary people see nothing remarkable. A casual gleam of sunshine, or a shadow thrown across his path, a time-withered oak, or a
moss-covered stone may awaken a train of thoughts and feelings, and picturesque imaginings." - Henry Fox Talbot 


This quote was featured in 'The pencil of Nature', I think it implies that not just this one image 'An Oak tree in Winter' but nearly all of his images had at least one theory or concept.

Personally i see this image as a bold reminder of the strength and to demonstrate the power of an oak tree. I definitely find myself comparing the size of the oak tree to the others in the distance and thats what brings me to a conclusion that Henry Fox Talbot considered Composition, Depth of field and also surroundings to communicate themes and symbolism within the image 'An Oak Tree In Winter'.



Bibliography 

Symbolism Of Oak Tree / http://www.universeofsymbolism.com/tree-symbolism.html

'The Pencil Of Nature' / Ebook / August 16, 2010 /http://www.gutenberg.org/files/33447/33447-pdf.pdf

'An Oak Tree In Winter' / http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=51747