Two Artist models I'd like to follow in technique

Miguel Rio Branco:    Most of his photographs use the technique of showing the figure in a ghostly manner, highlighting the essence on someone being in a position, but not there anymore. I like this effect and have looked at many other photos he has taken using this technique. I think it will fit well with the aspect of time I'm dealling with and I want to use it in one of my photos where a figure is sliiding down a slide and looks like they are 'disappearing'.

Jean Gaumy: Jean experiments with moments in time and sacrifices composition in some shots to capture these moments. In this photograph particularly I really feel the emotion, moment and movement the figures are caught up in. I think the focus on the parts of the young men which are moving the most are captured very nicely. It is like Jean makes the point of it being unnecessary to capture the whole body, and the importance lies in the source of the movement (the legs). I would like to experiment with this technique of cropping and a 'moment shot' for one of my photographs as Jean does in this photograph.  

Summary - more basic proposal and updated

I am looking at the idea of playgrounds and the aspect of exploring them in the point of view of time. I found that it would be interesting to convey the motion and time involved with the exploration in a series of images (with the help of photoshop). To take these images I have used a mixture of fast and slow shutter speeds and some techniques such as panning with movement and one which shows the figure in different places at the same time. The stark yellow tones from the playground aparatuses and the sunny day I will be taking the images on, will create a bold and happy emotion for the photos as this reflects the feelings you have had when you were younger playing on them.

Plan for shoot two

I didn't get as many successful shots out of the 1st shoot as the lighting ended up being off and I guess I should've gone out on a sunny day. My proposal plan has changed a little now and will be posted above this entry.

Because I will be using a long shutter speed and I'll be taking the shots during the day, I'm going to set my ISO on 100, my AF mode on Al Servo for moving subjects and the manual setting on to TV because it is a shutter dominant setting.

The problem I have with planning this shoot is to make sure I take a variety of different shots (different to the first one) that still portray the movement and exploration. I want to make sure I don't restrict the types of photos I can choose from.

There is unfortunately no swing at the playground I took the first shoot at but it has other things I like. I want to succeed in taking a pan movenment focussing on the figure so the the backround in blurred. I think this would be a great final image for the series. I experimented with it on the first shoot and now I definitely think I'll be able to get a successful shot. I want to get a shot of the slide with the figure going down it at different stages then on photoshop create one image out of the layers and make it so the figure becomes more ghostly the further down the slide they get. I tried this in the 1st shoot but there were several things I'd like to change to make it more successful.

Photos taken from shoot one that inspire some more shots to re-shoot

These are some photos that have certain aspects that could be successful, and to include in my next shoot.

I like the angle that this shot is taken from and the motion caught in a moment. It is like there is some sort of enjoyment and expression caught in this photo along with the motion as the figure disappears out of the frame.

The lighting is incorrect in this photo but I like the effect the blurred movement and the composition. I like overall the degree of blurryness

Shoot One finals

I really like this shot because it portrays a great sense of motion and energy. It is action and fluid from left to right. I like the composition of this shot, but I think the lighting and exposure is a bit off (as you can see the ends of branches go blue). The white balance is a bit off possibly. I found as I was taking these photos that the colour yellow comes through really well and may connect the series together - if I dont go through with changing the saturation to something that best fits a nostalgic feel.

This shot is a bit dark but it relates well to the first shot as it shows the playing and exploration through the playground. I think a re-shoot of this photo would be wise, and I will definitely need to take it when it is sunny and a positive look on the playground and time. It will make my photos look more effective and bold. I am also worried that the photo looks too similar in technique, but i guess there are greater differencesin the way the photo looks and that it still relates to time and people within a playground - exploration.

What I was trying to achieve with photo didn't really work, I don't like composition and the angle I'm taking the photo at. This photo shows play and exploration but in a way more ghostly way where there isn't much of a trace of human in this photo at all. I was trying to gradually fade out the figure, where they would be still visible (way more than the figure is in the photo). I tried a number of ways to do it, but because there are trees in the background, all of the layers would create an unnatural blurry background. I would like to re-take this photo from a diiferent angle and make sure there isn't anything distracting in the background to change or distort the photo when I place the layers on top of each other.

This photo shows successfully a focus I could possibly use for my series - hands. This is very flat though, and now I'm not sure if I even want to continue to focus on hands because I think it might just be an uneccessary element to my series as it is already based on playgrounds, the exploration in them and the time factor of exploration which is conveyed through various photoshop techniques.

Brainstorm shots for shoot 1

Artist model inspiration for shot types

All of these photos are just of playgrounds and include some unique camera angles and use of shutter speeds. They are all quite similar reflecting the enjoyment in the playground, but I think I'd like to portray my movement in my photos with a very formal and sturtured frames. which is unlike any of these, but maybe slightly like the photo by Nikos below.

My general comment about these images is that they are a lot to with the action and moment of enjoyment on the playground, as many aren't perfectly framed and that objects such as balls and body parts such as legs are cut out of they frame to create the sense of capturing the moment.

I quite like how Sobol has captured the shadow as well in the frame and the girls head is just dangling down into the frame. It gives the photo perspective, shape and again the sense of the moment as the photographer may have pressed the shutter just as the little girl dangles her head in front of the camera.

                            Alex Webb                                        Chris Steele-Perkins

                                   David Allen Harvey                           Jacon Aule Sobol

                            Mark Power                                      Nikos Economopoulos

New proposal for time project!

So the last proposal didn't end up being successful..

I still wanted to think about the human body and it's movement through time, and I needed to think about the setting for the photos and how I would explore the way people move throughout the space.

I thought hands would be a good focus for movement beacuse they are very expressive and are a very active part of the body and play a big part in humans movement.

The next thought process for my proposal was on where I would situate my photos, and decided this place must have meaning to my photos as well. I thought about where was the place where I moved the most around and where I used my hands - somewhere that also might have something to do with time. I thought of having a nostalgic feel of time to support the idea of human movement, and that would be at a playground.

When I do my first shoot I will decide whether I will continue focussing on hands (just) or of just general human movement in the playground as someone plays on it. The person will be my age as I want to show nostalgia and the theme of looking back on time.

I also want to look at after taking these first shoot photos the photoshop techniques to show time technically. Like, I could place several photos of a person on a swing and layer them on top of each other to show the process of the swing instead of just having one photo of long or fast shutter speed.

Photoshop exercise - Time.

5:30pm 16th August

9:00am 17th August

Investigation into concept... Not quite shoot 1

Artist model research and inspiration for project 2

CHRIS STEELE-PERKINS:

Born in Rangoon in 1947 and moved to London in 1971. Chris Steele-Perkins worked as a picture editor and photographer for the local newspaper whilst studying psychology. He worked as a freelance photographer and carried out foreign work in Bangledesh in 1971. He works extensively in Japan and England whilst having taken large-scale projects in 3rd world countries.

I believe a lot of his work is about capturing moments in places where you would not think a lot of joy could be found. He takes a lot of photographs ranging across many subjects. The pictures I have picked above are not the 'usual' photos he takes, but I think are an experiment on the way movement comes across on a flat image. Movement and moments that are either snapped or exaggerated through the use of long exposer are a key part to his his images.

The images come across fairly flat as they are on a black background, and in one it is obvious they are on a stage. I definitely like the effect long exposure has on creating a trace of movement that you would not otherwise see. In our eyes we only ever see the ending pose, the result, but we do not ever see the process or movement in which the dancer goes to, to get the end pose or pause in transition. Through this movement and process shown by the long exposure, It represents time, it may be short - but a glimpse into the transition of movement.

GUEORGIU PINKHASSOV:

Born in Moscow in 1952, he was interested in photography at a young age and after studying cinematography he worked at Mosfilm Studios and as a set photographer. He later obtained a status of independent artist.

I picked this artist model only for the image above. I like the emotion and effect the the photo has on what you feel by the way it is framed by the photographer - including the door and only the feet in motion. You feel as though you are watching from inside somewhere looking out at a snippet of time in the streets where people lead their lives. I'm interested in looking at how doors play a part in representing time and how it relates to the movement, surprise and unexpectancy of what might be behind a door. 

PETER MARLOW:

He was born in Kenliworth, England 1952. His first path in photography was photojournalism and likes to express and exercise his own independent vision after deciding photojournalism wasn't for him. The fabric of decay appealed to Marlow. Narratives of people and situations centred his work.

Most of his work is not based on movement or doors, as what I am exploring is very specific. I have however found these photos where I enjoy the framing and composition of the doors. My pictures wont solely look at the doors as such, as I think in these pictures the doors are quite the focus. I like the shared composition and framing which I will try and investigate.

PETER VAN AGTMAEL:

Proposal for Project 2 - Time

For this project on time I want to look at two different aspects of time and some how connect them through photographs. It is not a solid concept yet as I do not know how effective or understanding the photographs will be. I want to explore how doors/doorways represent time as something that leads you to change or unexpectancy of what might be behind the door. It could quite possibly open to another mode of time or another time in history. In my photography exploration I would like to think that my photos show that the doors open to a place of slow moving time (long exposure), of movement and the processes which takes place in the transition of a body. I want to create traces of movement that you would not otherwise see. In our eyes we only ever see the ending pose, the result, but we do not ever see the process or movement in which the dancer goes to, to get the end pose or pause in transition. Through this movement and process shown by the long exposure, It represents time, it may be short - but a glimpse into the transition of movement.

Photoshop exercise - Long exposure and fast shutter speed pictures

Evaluation

—I think my shoot for this project was quite successful, although I don’t think it turned out exactly how I planned to begin with, but it was close. It was close because I think all my research and pre-planning after I had explored my space with my first shoot helped towards making a clear picture of what my focus was on and how I was going to take the photos I wanted. Research and a solid proposal also helped to make my time taking photos minimal and ensured I had maximum time re-assessing and re-taking the shots I knew were perfect for the final series.

—Taking photos at night-time was a successful move to make, even though I wasn’t sure how effective it would turn out through the camera lens. The lights in the subway lighted up the bold colour, the whites and the geometric tiles on the walls and floor. The lights themselves even added to my photos in detail and effect which was great. The darkness created contrast and gave the subway life and emotion; creating shadows, contrasting with the whites on the walls and creating a seemingly ‘complete’ look to what my photos were focussing on. I didn’t even had to lower my shutter speed to create the movement of  the people through the space, I just needed to use a tripod.

—I do believe that because of the layout and position of the structures like steps, ramps and places where I could overlook the subway, I was unable to possibly get some of the images I would have preferred. The layout was a bit odd and there were many passages, which made the perspectives I could get in a shot highly restricting.

—Sometimes framing was highly unsuccessful due to the confusion on what I should focus on; whether it should be a wall, the steps, the ground tiles or anything else the had a straight edge. That is a big problem when it comes to taking photos in spaces with a lot of geometry, and I think I should have considered where I was standing to take the picture a bit more. But even that was a task in itself.

—You would think that being in a large space with many different areas to take photos of and through to ensure your series had variety but a common theme, would be a good thing. But from what I have found taking pictures in this subway is that it can be the opposite and many things can restrict you from taking the photos you want to achieve.

FINAL PIECES IN SERIES

Final shoot contact sheet

Finals from Shoot 3