Photographers of interest/ worth researching

Walker Evans
Malick Sidibe
Frans Lanting
Ryan McGinley
Zoe Leonard
Terry Richardson
Alec Soth
Ai Weiwei

Colour

COLOUR 
THEORY & DEFINITION

Colour is created when light strikes an object and reflects back into the eye. There are three properties of light.

1. Hue, this is simply the name we give to a colour.
2. Intensity, the strength of the colour e.g. we may describe the colour blue as 'royal' or 'dull'. 
3. Value, this is reference to its shade or tint changes in colours. 

(Definition from ThoughtCo.com)

As you can see in the picture there are different intensities and shades of one colour within a single image, which all create a different feel.

COLOUR AND EMOTION

•There has been a tremendous amount of research on how colour affects human beings and some of this research suggests that men and women may respond to colours differently.

•Colour affects us emotionally, with different colours evoking different emotions.

•In short, colour has the capacity to affect the human nervous system. 

COLOUR THEORY

         Colour is based off three primary colours that when mixed together can make all other colours. The three primary colours of light are Red, Green and Blue (RGB). Using a combination of these colours can produce all the colours in the spectrum and an equal amount of each will produce white light, this makes them additive primaries. Equal combinations of two primary colours are used to make secondary colours. Secondary colours are as follows: Yellow, Magenta and Cyan. The colours next too each other in the wheel are known as harmonious, analogous colours. The colours opposite each other are known as complementary colours as they create maximum contrast. 

         

         The RGB primaries do not apply to printing so instead there are a different set of primaries: Cyan, Magenta and Yellow (CMY). These create black if added together in equal amounts and are known as subtractive colours (CMYK). The 'K' represents the black as to not confuse it with blue. 

Source (http://www.graphics.com/article-old/color-theory-fundamentals-digital-photography)

Colour Psychology 

There are four psychological primary colours; Red, Blue, Yellow and Green.

         RED: This colour has positive connotations of strength, warmth, stimulation, love/compassion and excitement. It has negative connotations of defiance, aggression, impact and strain. It is regarded as a physical colour.

         Red is the longest wave length of light and has the property of appearing the closest to us, hence why it stands out. This has made it useful for sending across messages in posters and effective in traffic lights across the globe. It can stimulate the 'fight or flight' response and in its simplest form it is not subtle, therefore, coming across as aggressive. 

         BLUE: This colour has positive connotations of intelligence, duty, trust, logic and calm. It has negative connotations of being emotionless, cold and unfriendly. 

         Blue has more of a psychological effect rather than the physical 'fight or flight' that the red creates. A intensity of blue will invoke a different response, with softer blues soothing the mind and strong blues stimulating clear thought. Yet it is also perceived as a cold, unfriendly colour. 

         YELLOW: This colour has positive connotations of optimism, confidence, self-esteem, friendliness and creativity. This also has negative connotations of fear, emotional fragility, anxiety and depression.  

         Yellow is an emotional stimulant which makes yellow the strongest colour. A particular shade of yellow will lift our spirits and self confidence. On the fill side too much yellow can have the opposite effect, creating anxiety and fear. 

         GREEN: The colour green has positive connotations of harmony, refreshment, universal love, equilibrium and peace. It also has the negative connotations of boredom, blandness and fatigue. 

         Green is a colour that often requires no adjustment, making it restful. Green is at the centre of the spectrum and creates a sense of balance. Not only this but green can be found everywhere in the world around us and a source of water is usually near by, reassuring us on a primitive level, as there is little danger and famine. However, in large quantities green is bland and can promote stagnation.  

Source: (http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/psychological-properties-of-colours)

–Image Bank Robert Cartwright
Robert Cartwright is a London based photographer who specialises in events and portraiture. 
 
Not much can be found on Robert Cartwright, although from looking at his images they often seem
to show aspects of nightlife, where he plays on the ideas of colour and mood. For example the image 
uses luminous blue and purple colours. These are analogous colours and blue usually has the
connotations of logic and calm but the shade of blue and the purple give off this night club vibe of 
which logic and calm are not associated. 








He seems to manipulate how colour reflects off materials and objects and how what emotions this
creates. This will be something that I try to replicate in my own work.

The following images were used to aid my visual research:



The images above represent what sort of images I believe I could capture with some experimentation.
I could take these within a studio at college, or in a similar isolated location like in my local village.
With regards to my research I will be using colour to convey emotion within my images.

–Contact Sheet 

The shoot was on the whole good as I feel like I have developed my skills and showed a good depth of experimentation with lighting and gels. 

–My Best Images

–Images That Need Improvement

I chose these images as the ones that needed improvement as some of the ideas I tried to shoot didn't work and others were out of focus. The first image suffered from an exposure problem, where the shutter speed was not right it led to the image being over exposed. There was also an issue with composition as the light meter can be seen in the top right corner which takes away from the image. 

The second image similarly was over exposed. Here I tried experimenting with two different gels and have the lighting coming from behind the mask but because I was shooting was a slow shutter speed and the camera was not completely steady you can see some of the movement from the light. If I was to reshoot this image I was change the shutter speed to 1/125 to increase the sharpness and secure the camera on the tripod properly to get rid of the movement. 

The third image is over exposed and hasn't captured the movement I wanted properly. This was down to the shutter speed being to fast. This created the over exposure of the image and the speed of the shutter speed also meant the movement was not captured properly. If I was to reshoot this image I was reduce the shutter speed to 5 seconds which would allow for all the movement to be captured. 

The fourth image again was a failed piece of experimentation. I tried to create a light stream behind the model and I did have the camera inside a coloured wallet but the colour did not come through in the shot. The image was also not successful because the start points of the light trail stood out too much against the image, so in the end you could not see the figure. If I were to reshoot this image I would have a light focused on the model from a different location so that they can still be seen and I would also decrease the amount of light trails used. 

With reference to my best images, the first image was shot with a green gel over the snood and the snood was angled so that shadows fell on one side of the mask. This image was inspired by Robert Cartwright by the way he uses the reflection of lights off different objects. 

The first image of the model holding the mask was influenced by Cartwright's image of the band, the way the red light burns down on the model like a spotlight and the colour of the light creates a sinister atmosphere within the image. 

The image of the mask being held down by the models side is inspired by Cartwright's portrait of the old man the way the shadow falls on the mask and the way the white is on the mask this will allow me to add colour during the editing. 

Some of the images did not come out as I liked, but when experimenting it can be difficult to get all the images right. I did struggle at times to get the right shutter speed to adjust the exposure and the right aperture to get the right depth of field. 

For this shoot I used a Canon 5D and the shots where taken at F11 and between ISO 200 and 400. The shutter speed varied between 10 seconds all the way down to 1/125, this was to either capture movement or maximize sharpness. A tripod was used for this shoot, but because it was a more heavy duty tripod I found it difficult at times to move and extend the arms to the angles  I wanted them and also it could be difficult tightening it. If I were to reshoot I would used a tripod that is easier to handle. 

I then took the images into Photoshop to improve them further. I mostly played around the brightness and contrast to get the atmosphere that the colour connoted. 

Line

Line 

Definition & Theory

• A line represents a "path" between two points.
• A line can be straight, curved, vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or zigzag.
• Lines imply motion and suggest direction or orientation.
• A line can also be implied and is then filled in by the mind when several points are positioned geometrically within a frame.

The direction and orientation of a line can also imply certain feelings 

• Horizontal lines imply tranquillity, peace and harmony
• Vertical lines imply power and strength.
• Diagonal lines imply movement, action and change.
• Curved lines or S shaped lines imply quiet, calm and sensual feelings.
• Lines that converge imply depth, scale and distance - a fence or roadway converges into the distance provides the illusion that a flat two-dimensional image has three-dimensional depth. 

I have included the following visual examples which relate  to the above theory (all images have been take from Google Images).

Research (of artists and techniques) 

WALKER EVANS

Walker Evans was an American photojournalist best known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression in 1930s. He rejected the aestheticised view of artistic photography, claiming his goal as a photographer was to make his pictures "literate, authoritative, transcendent". 

The images where photographed in a black and white film, creating a gritty feel as if they are to send a bold statement about 1930s America. 

(Connotations) Because of the way that the photographs have been taken the signs stand out with them implying some form of motion, whether it be in the traditional sense with the moving car or in an less conventional way with the damaged sign being pulled out of the truck, connoting that America is moving through troubled times. Paying particular attention to the 'Borrough's work shoes', the image itself is rather simple, a stand alone pair of empty boots but the connotations of this image are rather deep. In the 1930s there was not a lot for everyday working American's to hold onto, that was until Hoover introduced this idea of the 'American Dream' that was achievable for anyone. This is displayed within this image as the boots represent the average working American and the fact that they are empty symbolises the false hope that they were given. There was in fact no achievable 'American Dream', that is all it ever was a dream and so the boots show that they were not working towards anything.   

The following images were added as part of my visual research.

The collection of photos seen above represent the type of images I believe I could capture in Much Hadham and Harlow, with a variety of horizontal, vertical and converging lines. With regards to the research that I have done and the images I gathered for further study, I will adopt a similar approach and shoot in black and white. 


 AO:1.  

Selected Images

Contact sheet(s)

The images marked in red were either out of focus slightly or the lighting distorted the image. For future reference I will need to consider how I am positioning myself during a shoot but also how natural light can affect the quality of my image.

My Best images (target 4 - 6)

I selected the following as my best images 

Images that require improvement. 

(AT LEAST 2 IMAGES)

I selected these images as the set up and composition of the image isn't right. The first image is blurry and a little bit out of focus, the second and third photos both have problems with exposure. The second would need the slightest of re framing as there is some wasted space but that can be edited out in photo shop but it would also need to be re-shot as there is an over exposure of light in the image. The the third image is framed as I would like but there is an over exposure of light in the background so you cannot see the image of focus. 

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

I    I had the idea of recording line in both urban and natural landscape, so I used the two locations of Much Hadham and Harlow. Harlow had strong links to my artists research of Walker Evans as his images illustrated urban America. Much Hadham has looser links with it being more based around my everyday locations. This links to Walker Evans as he photographed the lives of everyday Americans and the images I had taken were based off my everyday locations.

     The images that I have taken came with mixed results, there were a few images I wanted to capture but I couldn't quite get the framing and/or the exposure right, which was reflected in the results. However, there were other images that I believe came out really well and would only need slight tweaking.  

With more reference to my best images they were all framed shot to establish different lines. 

My first image was taken from underneath the bench and therefore, was at a canted or dutch angle. The effect that this has is it distorts the image and requires the viewer to really think about what they are seeing and really creates abstract art which links to Walker Evans. The angle that have taken the image means that there are an array of vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines that converge to also create this abstract image. 

The second image of the pillar in the street is inspired by Walker Evans as it is on a street that is usually bustling with people and Walker Evans images portrayed urban America. I framed it so that the pillar created my vertical line with the diagonal line of the shadow protruding from it. This was a relatively easy shot to take as the framing was not difficult and it did not require me to squeeze into a small space to take it unlike the previous one.

The bike wheel image was inspired by Walker Evan's image of the moving car, the wheel of the bike, like the car are more conventional images of movement. The image in itself is relatively simple but it did cause me some inconvenience. When I initially tried to shoot the photo, I only wanted a smaller portion of the wheel so I used the cameras zoom to frame what I wanted. However, I could not seem to get the camera in focus and had to compromise for a bigger section of the wheel. This is something I will be able crop down in photoshop. 

The street sign on the road is a direct inspiration from Walker Evans. The image again was taken at a canted angle. This was done withe purposes of the vertical shadow cutting across the sign to have to directions crossing over. The only trouble with getting this shot was timing, as I had to get the shot before more cars came along. 

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

I used a Fuji Fineopix S9600 for all of the shots taken, The images were photographed at an aperture range of between f4 and f8.  (YOU MAY NOT KNOW WHAT THESES VALUES MEAN AT THE START OF THE COURSE, WE WILL HELP YOU TO SHOW HOW THESE VALUES AFFECT HOW THE FINAL PICTURE LOOKS).   I tried to increase the aperture setting  to as high as possible so that I might have sharper pictures with a wider depth of field, however in some cases this was not possible as the lighting was poor.    In one instance shot of the stair well the lighting was poor so I had to increase the ISO setting to 800 and balance the camera on a railing.   The shutter speed used to get this shot was about 1/15 s with an f stop of 7.1.   The image is slightly out of focus.

If I were to reshoot this image again I would use a tripod to hold the camera steady and use a camera with a higher f stop range so that I could make sure the image was sharper....

To improve my images I decided to import some of them into photoshop and use this to create black and white images with more contrast. Not much was done to the image however, it resulted in big positive changes. Reducing the brightness meant the shadows became darker and increasing the contrast meant that the lines stood out, creating a darker gritty image like the ones created by Walker Evans.

The screen shots also show how I have used curves to create a further contrast in the image. By using the slider I have created a hard contrast to make the lines bolder. 

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

The artist research was helpful as it got me looking at buildings, objects and signs differently, I went out looking for the vertical, horizontal, diagonal lines, experimenting with how I could frame them to look somewhat abstract.  This was aided by my research of Walker Evans as geometric shapes were a big part of his work. 

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements.  
I believe that I have produced a strong series of images inspired by my research of line, composition and the images of Walker Evans...  The final images produced were refined by developing the contrast and converting them into black and white images..