Initial ideas!

My starting point for my coursework is ‘hidden’. So far, using a thesaurus, I have brainstormed a collection of alternative words/phrases that give the same meaning, which will hopefully give me a wider range of subjects to explore. To give this area of my work a more personal feel, and for it to include the aspect of photography that i most enjoy, I am hoping to somehow to combine my 'hidden' theme with fashion photography. The next step will be for me to start researching photographers and artists that produce work that inspires me. Using various websites and other resources i'm hoping to find some inspiration and ideas that i could re-create for the experimental section to my coursework. My initial ideas for my final piece are hidden emotions within images, where the true emotions of the model or person within the photo are not clear. Also, i think 'hidden truth' could be interesting to experiment with, possibly using subjects such as domestic or child abuse, and using photography to show that many people hide the truth from the world.

Brainstorming!

Rule of Thirds

Rule if Thirds - This refers to an imaginary grid drawn across a photo area that breaks the image into nine equal squares. The best focal point for subjects is at the intersection of these lines with secondary emphasis being seen along the lines themselves.

Aperture and depth of field..

I took these photographs whilst exploring aperture and depth of field! The brightest photo (at the top) has the smallest aperture. The depth of field is quite shallow, meaning the distance between the nearest object in focus and the furthest object in focus is quite narrow. Going down the list of photos, the second has the second smallest apeture, and the third with the third smallest aperture. The last photo (at the bottom of the list) has the largest aperture, and the depth of field is rather wide. This means that the distance between the nearest and furthest objects in focus, is quite large.

Review of my photographs..

I travelled just over 60 miles to Manchester to take my cityscape photographs, as i felt that i wouldn't be able to capture an image in the style of Joshua Davis in my local town. I went into the centre of Manchester, which was unusually quiet on this day, and chose an area which i found appealing and interesting. Photo's 1, 3, and 4 were all shot from eye level view, imitating the style of the photograph by Davis that i analysed in a previous post. Photo 2 however, was taken from a height of about 2.5 meters, looking down onto the street below. As the photo's were taken outside on a reasonable afternoon, the natural lighting was sufficient and left me able to edit my images easily. I used a high contrast and exposure on all of my images, to really show off the colours on specific things within the shot such as signs, bright lights and peoples clothing. On photo's 1 and 3, i then used a yellow tint, to give a more relaxed warm feel in the style of Joshua Davis. I wanted to capture just a typical city scene, leaving the viewer with a relaxed warm impression of the place captured within the frame. This is the reason for most of my photo's being taken as i walk along the city streets, stopping for just enough time to capture my image.

My Photographs..

1

2

3

4

This is a city scape photograph by Joshua Davis, with tall buildings, typical side street shops and advertisement, cars/taxis and people walking along the pavements. The photograph is taken at an eye-level view, and looking into the street ahead, which gives a more personal feel to the photo. City scape photographs are often taken from the top of a high rise building, and although being interesting and extremely popular, with a shot like this you can really feel the atmosphere of the photographers surroundings. Davis has really captured a natural city scene and has exaggerated this by using a yellow tone across the whole picture. The people within the photo are unaware that they are in the shot, as they are walking infront and away from him. I love how the colors on some of the signs/advertisements really stand out against the rest of the toned-down photo, and hope to achieve similar effects with my own photographs. It appears as if Davis has used the buildings either side of the street to frame his shot, although still keeping a natural feel to it as the photo is taken from a natural position on the pavement, rather than trying to get a clear view down the street by standing in the middle of the road. This also makes the photo more mysterious as the central point is where both rows of buildings appear to meet, not letting the viewer see where the street ends or what is around the corner. All of the image is in focus, which gives a care free, natural vibe, and letting the viewer explore the photograph freely.

As the photo has been taken inbetween rows of high buildings, there is limited natural light. Lines between shadow and light are not very defined, infact it is hard to tell which direction the light from the sun is coming from. This image is very different in terms of contrast, compared to another of my favourite photo's by Joshua Davis. This image appears to have an yellow tone across it, giving a warmer feel than the jackets worn by people in the picture would suggest. 'Times Square', also by Davis, has very high contrast lighting, which is something i hope to recreate in my photo's.

Induction Task

The photographer i have chosen to research is called Joshua Davis. He is an American photographer who's work has been used in magazines, text books, and on websites. He is a landscape, fashion and portrait photographer, although my favourite photographs by Joshua are his typical 'city scene' landscape photo's of New York City. He very often uses colour and exposure to change the mood of the photograph, which i really like, and i think with images such as these, it can really change the way you look and feel about the photograph.