‘Photography is simple’ was an open brief that allowed me to explore this title in any way I wanted across ten images. The final pieces combined the complexity of an instant camera, flexibility within digital art and the intricate nature of a human body. Photography is as simple as the human body and its elements, so I wanted to challenge this statement.

The final images for this assignment were ten digital photographs of 9 Instax mini prints I shot and chose for this project. I combined the limitation of light choices available on the Instax Mini-8 with the wide range of shutter speeds offered by my Sony A57. Correct exposure helped me document crisp, clear digital images to show how lighting plays a huge part in photography. Framing the prints correctly so that they were clear to view online was another technique to consider.


Mixing digital and tactile media has evolved over the years, making photography seem more straightforward than it is. ‘It can be so easy to edit our work in the modern-day in comparison to the more traditional film photography that can take hours or days’ (Powell, 2021). Keeping most of the shots unedited was a way to show that filters or post-processing is not always needed or necessary to create a strong image. If the subject is powerful enough with the composition, lighting and concept, that may be sufficient. I edited ‘Photography is as simple as the human body’ with a smoke overlay to reflect the evolution in photography and our ability to change a picture with just a button.

Presenting the collection as a set of 9 individual images in addition to a group helped me explain how pairing and selection can shape a photographic project or art piece. The responsibility is much higher for the photographer or editor to make the right choice when suggesting contexts and concepts to an audience. 

Ziqian Liu is a Shanghai-based self-portrait photographer who integrates nature and the human body to show the close connection we have with other organisms. ‘In her work, the image in the mirror represents the idealized world she wishes to live in,’ (ARTPIL, 2019) similar cropping an object to warp the brain’s expectations. Photographing the human body in such an intimate way helps us understand how beautiful the body is and how private we keep it from others. 

I took inspiration from Liu by taking closely framed images of my own body in a bed to inject the sense of familiarity, soft aesthetic and personal touch she shows throughout her work. Another visual technique I took influence from was her choice of monochrome colour palettes. Fewer colours prevent the eyes from being easily distracted, drawing focus towards the subject chosen by the photographer.

Taking pictures of various body parts while removing contexts such as facial expressions or identity helped me push the attention towards the skin, ‘flaws’ and poses used. We as human beings are highly critical of our bodies, so photographing it in such a close, intimate way offers the viewer to analyse what is in front of them in more detail without previous judgement. An approach such as that may influence others to connect with their bodies and admire its versatility.

Being minimalist with the details, tones and subjects used kept the images coherent and ‘simple’ in terms of composition. This technique allows an audience to connect with one other human over the period they view the work, instead of being preoccupied with many people, objects or other influences as we tend to be across media. ‘With minimalism, no attempt is made to represent an outside reality, the artist wants the viewer to respond only to what is in front of them’ (Tate, 2017). Whether the viewer sees themselves, someone they love or hate in these pieces, it is at least getting them to think about the concept.

Physical prints wear down over time if they are not taken care of properly; they can gather scratches, fade through intense sunlight or gather dust, so the grainy overlay used in Photography is as simple as the human body aided in reflecting that too. Digital images are not affected by the physical elements, but more so viruses or accidental deletion of a file. Everything about photography seems so simple in modern times; the process is the same technical wise, despite the fact the images look crisp and take less time to capture than traditional approaches. 

Photography is simple 1 was not easy to shoot despite the process being as simple as turning the light dial to Hi-Key and clicking the shutter button. I could not see what the viewfinder was picking up, nor did I know how close the lens was to my body beyond judging with the naked eye. How the flash would affect the final image was not something I would know until after the image was developed, similarly with the framing and positioning of the camera. All of the images taken without the help of the viewfinder made the photographing process much more complicated and riskier but exciting at the same time. Photography is simple 7 is an example of how unexpected images can be a fine line between a great and a failed image. The whites of the eyes and reflection from the cheekbone created a sense of mystery and imagination for viewers in what could have been a plain, underexposed print. The assignment was challenging yet exciting. I was able to show how photography consists of many elements that could not possibly be classed as simple once you learn how a photograph manifests. Instant photography is a risk as you are limited to a few films and little information about the end product before development. Digital photography is more straightforward as we can delete and edit, but the correct techniques still need to be used to capture a successful piece.

References

ARTPIL. (2019) Ziqian Liu [online] Available at: https://artpil.com/ziqian-liu/ [Accessed 25 June 2021].

Powell, L. (2021) Final shoot plan + images [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2021/06/21/final-shoot-plan-images/ [Accessed 25 June 2021].

Tate. (2017) Minimalism – Art Term [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/m/minimalism [Accessed 25 June 2021].

Summary:


In this post I

– Included the brief for assignment 5 ‘Photography is simple’

– Before discussing my initial thoughts on the title and the ideas it brought to mind

– Listed a variety of concepts and techniques that could be explored throughout this assignment

– Reflected on the post as a whole and my preferred ideas that I will take forward for research

Brief:

‘So photography is simply viewpoint and moment… but what about the subject? The simplest subject is the moment. You can record the moment with a snapshot, but when you review the photograph later you find you didn’t actually record the moment, you just recorded the ‘event of photography’. It might take a very long time to simplify the whole world and its infinite framings into a subject that makes sense to you. Robert Adams said, ‘Sooner or later one has to ask of all pictures what kind of life they promote’ (Grundberg, 1999, p.34). For now, though, you should just feel comfortable with your subject. It should say something about you and, in the end, you like it! The final assignment is an open brief. Take a series of 10 photographs of any subject exploring the theme ‘Photography is Simple’. Each photograph should be a unique view; in other words, it should contain some new information, rather than repeat the information of the previous image.‘ (Bloomfield, 2018).

Initial thoughts

This assignment title reminds me a lot of the statement “photography is easy, you just aim the camera and shoot”, a common phrase I’m sure plenty of photographers have heard over the years. The knowledge we have allows us to understand that this comment is far from the truth. The complexity of the camera and its settings are the first of many photographic elements that take time to appreciate and learn.

In terms of the brief, its flexibility and potential for various topics to be chosen make it a touch more exciting as much as it is challenging.

List of possible assignment ideas:

Going back to basics – use a kit lens, use an automatic mode and view photography from a beginners standpoint.

Simple subjects – Landscapes, floral photography, sunsets, the ocean, ‘postcard’ shots of ‘unoriginal’ things.

Opposites – Photographing complex subjects, or using trickier techniques to oppose the word ‘simple’.

Out of my depth – Using a technique or visual style I’ve not used before to challenge myself, avoiding simplicity and comfort.

Minimalism – Monochrome images, singular items, black and white photography, sticking to one or two techniques etcetera.

Reflection:

Throughout this course, I have learnt the importance of challenging yourself, whether that is through the choice of technique, concept or style. It pushes you to go that extra mile and learn from it, rather than sticking within your comfort zone.

Bearing this in mind, I think the Opposites and Minimalism concepts are the most attractive assignment paths at this point in time. Pushing the boundaries of the word ‘simple’ by doing the opposite breaks the meaning of the word, as nothing is simple when you think about it. Simple is merely a word people use to describe something that doesn’t light them up inside.

Photography isn’t simple, there are so many layers to it. Everything has more to it than meets the eye, making it extraordinary.

References:

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 111. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 13 June 2021].

For this assignment, we had to revisit one of the exercises from part four of this course and develop it into a formal piece. The exercises explored natural light, artificial light or controlling light, from which I chose the last. Photographers can use the light provided to them at the time or take it into their own hands to get the shadows and highlights they require.

The final images for my assignment were black and white, 360-degree mirrored images of the cross-sections of fruit and vegetables. I took the techniques from exercise 4.3, ‘Egg or stone’, lit the subjects from underneath with a light pad to create a highly contrasted yet 2D image full of detail to prevent the work from being flat and lifeless.  

Doug McKinlay made a tutorial on capturing slices of fruit, vegetables, flowers and other translucent items with a lightbox and macro lens. Overexposing the images by one or two stops prevents the background from being dull and grey (McKinlay, 2017), enhancing the bright whites and colours of the subject. McKinlay shot his images without a tripod by bumping the ISO up enough to allow for a fast shutter speed, avoiding camera shake. I intended to use a tripod for my photoshoot to prevent any blur, yet, the lens was not close enough to the slices, forcing me to go handheld and use the advice from the YouTube tutorial.

Andy Ellison is an MRI technician who tested his MRI scanner settings by scanning the cross-section of an orange. He was so impressed by the results that he created an entire series of images from fruits and vegetables, both static and animated Gifs of the scans. The scans inspired me to explore the idea of black and white film negatives, but on a much larger scale. Film negatives are the opposite of a fully developed print, ghostly yet beautiful. The denser areas are white or light grey, while exposed areas are dark grey or black, much like medical scans. 

I combined ‘the use of lightbox and macro photography technique from McKinlay’s tutorial, Ellisons MRI scans and presenting them as individual prints like Gomez’ lumen prints; while keeping it unique’ (Powell, 2021). My SONY A57 settings were manual, with an ISO of 1600, aperture of F/2.8., a range of shutter speeds depending on the subject and the light intensity.

The light source for the photoshoot was an A4 LED light pad, set to the highest setting and covered by a sheet of white paper to block out the dots on the surface. Overexposing the image like McKinlay suggested prevented the background from going grey and dulling the slices of food. Shooting from above flattened the subject while keeping the shadows and highlights balanced. Using a shallow depth of field caused the camera to focus on the areas closer to the lens. As a result, it created a soft eerie effect on some of the images when converted to black and white. The macro lens allowed me to examine the fruit and vegetables more intimately, enhancing the small details within the flesh and how they are grown.

Using photoshop to invert the images and convert them to black and white using a B&W filter and gradient map allowed me to achieve the ‘negative film’ and scan effect that I was hoping to replicate. Enlarging the canvas and duplicating the individual shots to create a 360-degree symmetrical piece intensified the details and shapes within the photographs selected from my shoot.

The final images are complex, highly contrasted, full of texture and shapes, much like an MRI scan or x-ray would be of the body. The context for these pieces is limited. Viewers can analyse and come to their conclusions about the images, what they mean, what the subject is, similar to Hermann Rorschach’s inkblot tests where people describe what they see within the abstract art. Each response is different depending on the person, making the art more captivating.

Presenting the photographs as strong individuals allows each piece to be appreciated, rather than a pair of average images complementing one another to create a set. The vertical order of the pictures enables the collection to become a powerful group of ‘scans’ from head to toe.

The most compelling images for me are Scan 1 and Scan 3, as they are ripe with texture, contrast, shapes and details. They look like flesh, with the addition of tougher and denser areas throughout, balancing the composition as a result. Heavy black areas represent the bright white areas created by the light pad placed underneath the translucent slices. Intense white areas show the thicker and less exposed elements within the fruits and vegetable makeup. Even though the photographs are flat and two-dimensional, the artificial arrangement of the images creates a complex and exciting art piece from what were individual shots.

Taking images of the fruits and vegetable so closely filled the frame and included little background, causing some of the photographs to be too bright when inverted and providing little or no dark areas to frame the subject like most of my final pieces. Making sure the arrangements balanced before pressing the shutter, resulting in a better finish. Taking a little more time to compose is something I would consider doing more if I were to do this shoot again.

This assignment has been fascinating to explore as I pushed myself out of a comfort zone, experimented with controlled light and discovered the incredible results it could achieve. Every light source is just as good as the other if you know how to use each one efficiently.

References:

McKinlay, D. (2017) Light Box Art: Stay Focused with Doug McKinlay [Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWiL5N-b4YM (Accessed 28th May 2021).

Powell, L. (2021) Further research and shoot plan [Blog post] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2021/06/07/further-research-and-shoot-plan/ (Accessed 7th June 2021).