Assignment 1 - Amendments & evaluation

I was very happy with the report from my tutor and very much appreciate the suggestions for moving forward. An interesting observation made was that I seem to be drawn to close up images, I'd not really given this much thought before but yes, I am and this feedback has also helped me to understand some of the new challenges of 'people and place', that being of the challenge with the exercises requiring me to draw back in the frame, it's become clearer that this seems to be a little out of my comfort zone, I do prefer close ups, I am less comfortable and confident pulling back as I am unsure of what to include in the background, keeping it close keeps the image tidy for me, it's interesting that this has been identified but positive at the same time as I can focus on a personal challenge. My current exercise of street photography is not only a challenge of being comfortable taking pictures of people but also of pulling back out of the frame. I really like street photography and don't feel my attempts are any good, maybe because they are just not close up?

My tutor also highlights my preference of monochrome, I do love monochrome, I love the revelation of the lines a textures it exposes and also the timeless quality it brings. I feel monochrome adds an element of style and can turn an ordinary image into something with mystery and on occasion an element of class. Maybe it takes me back to my childhood, of photo's taken by my parents, images of such value. I remember my fathers first Instamatic Polaroid camera, we thought we were so advanced as we were the only people we knew with such a machine! We would gather round the floppy black square, waiting excitedly for the great reveal! although these images were in colour, colour tells it how it is, shows all the details in the frame, wanted and unwanted, monochrome adds a veil of mystery and brings in a quality I admire in terms of geometry, texture, shape etc, I guess it's a little like the revealing of the Instamatic Polaroid, the excitement of what the click of the shutter will bring....exiting, that's what monochrome is to me...exiting.

I also need to add more dialogue when research other photographers, rather than just a couple of lines and link, I need to think about why I am influenced.

I will also add 'learning observations' at the end of each exercise, and try to get used to writing summaries and evaluate my learning. Also adding write ups on relevant articles that interest me, and why articles etc spark my interest.

I'm also registering with Lincoln University library, where there are a great many resources.

Assignment 1 - A portrait

For this assignment I needed to create between five and seven different portraits. They were to differ in type and style. I chose my daughter Sophie as my subject as she is very expressive and enjoy's being in front of the camera and importantly for this assignment, she is available for a photo shoot without too much organising of time and place.

The photo's were taken in various lighting conditions and different rooms of our house using a variety of kit including a flash gun and diffuser, reflective disc, a hanging background, and natural using light.

ISO200 63mm f/4.0 1/6 sec

I wanted to take a photo of Sophie in monochrome using a plain white background. The only light used was natural daylight from the window to the left, I asked her to turn to look at the window with a thoughtful expression. The expression I was aiming for was one that I see very often in Sophie when she is deep in thought.

ISO100 46mm f/3.5 1/6 sec

This image was taken indoors in a room with natural light, I turned Sophie to face the window to cast the available light onto her face and asked her to just look at me without expression. I like the direct eye contact with the camera and think the straight on position adds strength to the contact with the camera, making Sophie look totally engaged creating a determined expression. 

This image reminds me a little of an image by Thomas Ruff, portrait 1987 of a young woman looking straight onto the camera, this style of photography which Ruff uses seems to make the image look like an official document but it also can immediately involve the viewer with the direct gaze along with additional qualities of symmetry simplicity.

Thomas Ruff - portrait

ISO100 25mm f/5.0 1/60 sec

I wanted to take a photo outdoors in natural light, this photo was taken at 4pm when the sunlight was low in the sky. The light is coming from the left of the frame and as it is taken outdoors shadows are reduced., I've used the highlight slider in Light room 5 to reduce the highlights on the hair. I asked Sophie to adopt a thoughtful expression which is accentuated by her putting her hand to her chin added to the downward looking eyes, the overall feel of the photo quite sad, which is why I converted the image to black and white as it adds to the sombre feel.  

ISO100 54mm f/4.0 1/10 sec

My thinking behind this image was to capture an expression often seen when Sophie is completely immersed in something, in this case the television. She was completely unaware of me pointing the camera at her and I’ve capture the faraway look in her eye that I wanted. 

ISO100 46mm f/3.5 0.5 sec

In the same room as the previous image, I used a flash gun to eliminate the shadows, I'd pulled back a little to include the shoulders and part of the torso so that the blue of the dress was more visible. I liked the lightness of the skin from using the flash gun which highlights the eyes more and links the blue of the eyes and dress. I applied a slight vignette in Photoshop elements.

ISO100 42mm f/2.8 1/20 sec

Using the light from the window with the light casting across the face, the shadow from the nose doesn't affect the right eye and feel the amount of shadow gives a depth to the image. The expression showing an enigmatic smile along with the raised eyebrows making the viewer question is she happy? is she bored? or is she asking a question?