Exercise 5.1 – The Distance Between Us

Part 5, Reflection on coursework, Thoughts & Ideas

Summary:

In this post I

– Included the brief for this exercise

– Listed my initial plans, concepts and why

– Shared my camera settings and technical information

– Before providing the contact sheets for my shoot

– Inserted 6 of my favourite shots from the set and explained why through analysis

– Chose my ‘select’, analysed the image

– Before discussing why I chose it as the strongest image, the unintentional and conceptual elements discovered

Brief:

Use your camera as a measuring device. This doesn’t refer to the distance scale on the focus ring. Rather, find a subject that you have an empathy with and take a sequence of shots to ‘explore the distance between you’. Add the sequence to your learning log, indicating which is your ‘select’ – your best shot. When you review the set to decide upon a ‘select’, don’t evaluate the shots just according to the idea you had when you took the photographs; instead evaluate it by what you discover within the frame (you’ve already done this in Exercise 1.4). In other words, be open to the unexpected. In conversation with the author, the photographer Alexia Clorinda expressed this idea in the following way. Look critically at the work you did by including what you didn’t mean to do. Include the mistake, or your unconscious, or whatever you want to call it, and analyse it not from the point of view of your intention, but because it is there. (Bloomfield, 2018)

Initial plans

I didn’t want to give too much thought about what to take images of to give myself a challenge; instead, I read the brief and decided to pick the first subject that came to mind in terms of empathy. As a result, the deforestation and increase of littering within my local woodland popped up first.

Growing up next to woodland is something to be grateful for as nature is right on your doorstep and isn’t something everyone has the privilege of having. Unfortunately, I’ve watched this beautiful area be the victim of mass deforestation and urbanisation to allow room for more homes. Building on land to cover the rise in population isn’t so much the problem, but the littering, lack of care taken after trees and foliage removable are.

It’s not satisfying to go on a nature walk, to find metal barriers up that are yet to move, piles of logs and leftover branches scattered around the place with signs and ripped tape on the floor. Seeing all the changes happen and watching it decline since childhood makes me feel empathetic toward the animals that live within those woods, the insects, trees and the pedestrians who want to observe this place.

I used my SONY A57, set my aperture to F/2.8, the focus and camera settings to manual before heading out on a walk around the woods. Not knowing what I was going to find made this exercise more challenging as I wasn’t sure whether there would be enough around to gather a substantial amount of images to choose from, although, wasn’t the case as seen below in my contact sheets.

Contact sheets

A selection of favourite images:

The selection of the six images above is visually strong, well framed and clearly show where the focal points are. Earthy tones perfectly reflect the life and death of nature, rich soil and crisp green foliage. Tonal differences throughout the compositions provide a steady balance between the dark shadowy areas, well lit vibrant sections and shapes that supply a contrast between the organic and more structural man-made subjects featured. Using natural overcast light allowed me to capture diffused shadows and highlights that made the shallow depth of field creamer and smooth, complimenting the fragility of the nature I was documenting. Contextually and conceptually, they present the various elements found within our woodland, from rubbish, to work signs, animals navigating through their home despite it. It may encourage the viewer to think about our effect on the area we live in, how people treat it and the results of these actions. The juxtaposition between nature and man-made objects or situations is jarring as it doesn’t belong and evokes a powerful reaction.

My final ‘select’:

While that collection of photographs were powerful contenders for my ‘select’ and final image, the shot that spoke the most to me was DBU 16 (see Fig. 10). This picture surprised me the most, as it doesn’t necessarily present the idea of deforestation and the massive effect on nature at first glance. Unlike the other compositions, there aren’t any man-made subjects within the frame indicating building work, littering or burnt wood and foliage. Tonally it is balanced, as the shadows and highlights are soft rather than heavily contrasted, while the colours are vibrant and pleasant to look at. Everything about this shot is organic, fresh and full of life, soft due to the natural light and shallow depth of field; a complete juxtaposition to the darker, grittier photographs of old cups, spray-painted trees and plastic items. However, conceptually it still connects with my initial idea of capturing the woodland and its effects on nature and humans etcetera.

When I saw the foxglove growing in between the grass down a thin, closed off path, I was inclined to capture it even though I felt it didn’t ‘fit’ the aesthetic or context behind this exercise. This flower was in the most secluded area, away from the set path, in the middle of trees and tufts of long grass. Despite the destruction and interactions that have taken place in the area, this piece of nature has thrived. Its petals were vibrant, silky and undamaged, while leaves from the trees behind were crisp, fresh and thriving. Initially, I just thought I was taking a pretty picture, quite a simple shot which some may call a ‘postcard shot’, but when I looked at it closely there was a bee in the background. Nature continues to live on no matter what we’re doing, doing its job, much like the bumblebee in this shot. It wasn’t intentional to have a bee in the frame as the focal point was on the foxglove but it’s added an extra layer to the composition as a whole. Without bees and other insects, we wouldn’t have flowers, trees and a healthy abundance of nature to help us survive. The fact that its wings blurred despite the fast shutter speed and its convenient placement within the shallow depth of field in the background feels like a clever reference to the decrease in bees and the danger they face due to the lack of plants that allow them to pollinate. If the bee was further back we would barely see it; it would disappear in the blur.

The distance between humans and nature isn’t far at all, we need it more than we think.

Reflection:

This exercise was interesting as it lightly linked back to assignment 1, where I revisited important places from childhood to see how they had changed. My final image wasn’t one I was expecting to choose, purely because of the initial plan to explore the destruction and man-made influences within the local woodland. Giving myself a challenge by picking the first idea that came to mind made me focus more on the location which is what photography is all about. It was a risk, but it worked.

The distance between us has taught me that photographs may look simple, plain and just become another pretty picture, but if you take a deeper look you may find something you weren’t anticipating. When selecting images, it’s important to choose those that are compelling even if it’s not one of your favourites to start with. In future, I will be more flexible when it comes to picking a final set and presentation.

References:

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 103. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 13 June 2021].

List of images:

Figure. 1. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 1 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 2. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 2 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 3. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 3 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 4. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 4 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 5. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 12 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 6. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 34 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 7. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 37 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 8. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 39 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 9. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 49 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 10. Powell, L. (2021) DBU 16 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Assignment 4 – Languages of Light – Write up

Assignment 4, Reflection on assignments, Thoughts & Ideas

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).

Final image analysis and contact sheets

Assignment 4, Reflection on assignments

Summary

In this post I

– Discussed the post-processing that took place to edit my final images, how it was achieved and why

– Included screenshots of the editing process before discussing which images were stronger and the weaknesses of others

– Inserted the annotated contact sheet including the final image edits and the pictures I was considering for presentation

– Included all of the final images as individuals in vertical order, allowing the images to be viewed as a group.

– Explored my reasoning for presentation, where my inspiration for the final pieces came from and the strengths and weaknesses in a short analysis

– Before reflecting on the process as a whole.

Post-processing

To create my final images I took my black and white inverted shots, enlarged the canvas by 4 (See Fig. 1), before creating three duplicates of the photographs and changing the orientations of each to mirror one another (See Fig. 2). As a result, this created multiple 360-degree pieces out of what was one image. The inspiration for these compositions came from Andy Ellison, an MRI technician who scanned fruits and vegetables as a way to test his MRI machine settings (Insider, 2013). Ellison’s work influenced me to produce a photograph that looked ‘beautiful, ghostly … like they could be part of the human body’ (Powell, 2021).

Some of the individual images weren’t strong enough when duplicated and turned into a mirrored image, as can be seen in my annotated contact sheet for these edits (See Fig. 3). Scan edit 5, was interesting in terms of texture and symmetry but wasn’t as exciting as the others due to the lack of shape, contrast and detail. On the other hand, scan edit 9 was overexposed, lacked texture and detail but had an interesting eye shape. Edits 12 and 13 were good composition-wise as the frame was full, juxtaposing the other images and documenting highlights more so than shadows. However, those particular images wouldn’t have been fitting when presented with the rest of the group because of this big difference; it would be quite jarring to look at.

The pieces with the red above them are the images I felt are the best of the collection, not only because of their comparisons contrast and details wise, but they each look like an individual body part. The similarities pull them together as a set, but the shapes and subjects allow them to be unique enough to tell their own story.

Final images

This assignment requires 6-10 high-quality photographic prints if you’re planning to submit for assessment, therefore, the editing for this particular set of images is important. The way your images are presented could heavily influence the way a viewer looks at the pieces and what they get from them. If you pick an art piece that isn’t as strong as the rest, the entire group could be less impactful and draw fewer people in.

I chose the presentation, and the order of my photographs was by referring back to my practitioner research and shoot plans. I wanted to explore the ‘aesthetic’ of film negatives, lumen prints and how ghostly they look after development. Instead of producing an image that reflected a typical black and white photographic print, the edits were inverted to represent an enlarged version of a negative film or black and white lumen print. The final edits reflected my study of MRI scans from Andy Ellison that document the thin and dense areas of the subject via heavy contrasts. Scans can ‘show the thicker areas that are blocking out most of the light or rays via a white or light grey image … ‘ (Powell, 2021) but aren’t limited to this, as denser areas can be darker while the thin areas remain whiter in some MRI’s or x-rays.

While looking at the final images, I noticed how much they looked like body parts or at least a mutated version of a body part. Printing the chosen images off allowed me to arrange the photographs in multiple orders to see what worked best and why. Eventually, I decided on the order shown above and sat with it for a few days before confirming that this was the arrangement I felt was suitable for this set. From the top downwards, we have images that look like the brain, eyes, a set of teeth, spine, torso, hips and legs.

The final set is balanced with shadows and highlights, full of detail, a range of textures and shapes. The shallow depth of field enhances the eerie effect seen throughout each image, especially in Scan 1 (see Fig. 4). There is a soft grey area just below all the crackled black areas around the edge of the fruit, that frames the middle of the image, enhancing the details within that area and the surrounding edges. Smudgy dark marks can be seen on the outer edges of Scan 4 (see Fig. 7) that look like an inkblot painting, bleeding into the paper and symmetrical all around. Scan 3 (see Fig. 6) is the strongest piece in my opinion, due to the range of tones throughout, bright highlights, dark shadows and mid-grey’s. The shapes look sharp in some places and blunt in others, the block of black in the middle of the frame intensifies the scary form of the fruit. Grooves and dents within the subject, give the image a fleshy texture, as a result providing some context as to what the object may be or how it may feel.

Reflection

This assignment has been interesting to explore as I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, experimented with controlled light and the results that could be achieved. I have managed to combine the use of lightbox and macro photography techniques from McKinlay’s tutorial, Ellison’s MRI scans and presenting them as individual prints like Gomez’ lumen prints; while keeping it unique and making it my work by taking influence from a past light project of mine from 2015.

The final images are strong, complement one another and present an interesting idea that doesn’t have a lot of context to it, unless you knew what the subject was and how the pieces were put together. This set allows the mind to analyse what is happening, inspect all of the details and paths within the photographs and the meaning behind them. It is a complex group of pieces that challenge the stereotypical use of controlled light and studio photography.

References

Insider (2013). Andy Ellison X-Ray Scans of Food. [online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/andy-ellison-x-ray-scans-of-food-2013-3?r=US&IR=T (Accessed 28 May 2021).

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

List of images

Figure. 1. Powell, L. (2021) Canvas [Photoshop, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 2. Powell, L. (2021) Duplications [Photoshop, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 3. Powell, L. (2021) Contact Sheet [Adobe Bridge, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 4. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 1 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 5. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 2 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 6. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 3 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 7. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 4 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 8. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 5 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 9. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 6 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Figure. 10. Powell, L. (2021) Scan 7 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell, Eastleigh.

Contact sheets for photoshoot and edited images

Assignment 4, Notes, Reflection on assignments

Summary

In this post I

– Described my shoot setup, the camera settings I used and any issues faced.

– Provided annotated contact sheets for the images taken for this photoshoot

– Before briefly explaining the annotations and why I chose those images to edit

– Included the contact sheets for the images I selected to convert into black and white

– As well as screenshots to show how it was done, referring back to my previous research

– Finishing the post off with a brief reflection on the images I shot and what I intend to do going forward

Shoot setup

For this shoot I initially intended to set my camera up on a tripod to keep the camera steady as the macro lens is quite heavy, however, this meant that the camera wasn’t as close to the cross-sections as I wanted them to be. As a result, I boosted the ISO to 1600 to allow for a faster shutter speed and a brighter exposure level. The weight of the lens made the process slightly more challenging as I had to manual focus too, but it was thankfully successful. To make the focal points more prominent when photographing any details the aperture was F/2.8 to allow for a shallow depth of field if taken at an angle to blur any background features. Overexposing the images slightly enhanced the brightness of the white background, like Doug McKinlay, suggested in his lightbox tutorial Light Box Art: Stay Focused (2017), preventing the image from looking dull and textured from the paper underneath.

Rather than using a large lightbox, I purchased an A4 light pad which is much smaller and thinner, but bright enough to do the job. A variety of fruits and vegetables were bought in advance and sliced to provide me with a range of colours, shapes, textures to play around with when composing the image.

Contact sheets for photoshoot

The first set of contact sheets are for the shoot itself, including brief annotations to explain what I like about each particular shot, why I have crossed a majority out and what may become of them in post-production. After annotating and selecting my favourites from the entire photoshoot, I then took these images into photoshop and edited them to see what they would look like in black and white.

The images are as follows:

Contact sheet for edits

To get the results shown in my contact sheets, I lightly corrected some of the shadows and highlights in the images that needed retouching before converting them to black and white. To change the colour is used the B&W tool and selected ‘blue filter’ (See Fig. 1) to enhance the contrast. To mimic an inverted image and MRI, I then used the gradient tool in reversed black and white (See Fig. 2).

I wanted to choose a range of images to use in my final image edits, so I made sure to select shots that were heavily black in some areas and bright white in others, highly detailed or minimally textured for the remaining few. This gave me a wide selection to experiment with and create strong symmetrical compositions from. Showing variety was important to me for this photoshoot, appreciating multiple fruits and vegetable structures and juxtaposing between the imagery and reference the different kinds of scans as discussed in my previous research, ‘some scans may vary and present the denser areas in black or grey…’ (Powell, 2021).

Reflection

This photoshoot helped me appreciate the structures of the food we grow and eat, the minuscule details within them and how beautiful they are. I was able to be flexible with my plans for this shoot, not letting the weight of my camera ruin the imagery and changing the settings to work with what I had. Reviewing the images shown on my contact sheets allowed me to reduce the number of photographs needed in the initial post-production process and once again after they’d been edited to black and white.

Understanding the process in detail before doing the shoot, rather than briefly researching a concept and making things up as I go, helped this project to flow a lot smoother and resulted in some powerful images.

The final images will be in a separate post from this one, but I am thrilled with the selection chosen.

References

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

Powell, L (2021). Further research and shoot plan [online] At: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2021/06/07/further-research-and-shoot-plan/ (Accessed 28 May 2021).

List of images

Figure. 1. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 1 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 2. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 2 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 3. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 3 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 4. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 4 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 5. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 5 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 6. Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet 6 [pdf, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 7. Powell, L. (2021) Black and White [Photoshop, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh

Figure. 8. Powell, L. (2021) Gradient Map [Photoshop, screenshot] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh

Assignment 3 – Tutor Feedback

Assignment 3, Reflection on assignments, Reflection on feedback, Thoughts & Ideas

I have received formal feedback from my tutor for my third assignment ‘The Decisive Moment’. Considering this particular assignment took a long time to complete due to personal situations, I am happy with the response I got.

Here is a summary of the comments received via email:

Strengths:

– Strong interpretation of the ‘ongoing’ (in)decisive moment through the representation of time in the still life flower.
– Using the domestic setting shows a strategic conceptual documentation of the private and quotidian, rather than the public realm of most decisive work.
– Good references about technical approaches.
– Explores the technical/conceptual and how it alludes to still life.

Weaknesses:

– Define critical terms right away concisely with a firmer introduction to the assignment.
– Show the subject, presentation and give context to the approach, so tell them rather than let them find out themselves.
– Link what I’ve found via references but be clear on the subject to start with.
– Expand my points further with ‘whys’ with references to show how I’ve done something.

Areas of development:

– Attach annotated contact sheets to show how I got to a certain technical decision etc.
– Explain concept initially and expand later one in more detail.
– Lead reader into the subject and reference my evidence to back it up.
– Reference influences and how I interpreted the assignment.

Reflection:

Once again, I need to work on being more concise but avoid being too vague by referencing and explaining my approaches in more detail. Write about what’s relevant and the influences I used within my own work is important. I need to lead my readers into the subject and further expand with evidence at a later point. Overall, I have the ideas there and the strong images to show that I’ve understood the assignment, however, my written work needs to be clearer and reflect exactly what I discovered. They’ve noted that it’s difficult to do, but worth getting the hang of early on.

Assignment 3 – The (in)decisive moment -write up

Assignment 3

The indecisive moment challenges the belief that a singular extraordinary moment is the most important and unique to capture, by recording periods of chaos and uncertainty, in turn, allows the viewer to explore multiple paths within an image. The decisive moment requires patience to document that once in a lifetime shot, showing balance and well thought out composition.

The unpredictability that took place during this assignment; pushed me to explore the indecisive moment. The in-decisive felt like the most fitting approach to pursue, despite my initial interest in the decisive.

Lockdown restrictions meant that plans had to change due to social distancing and the inability to travel far from home. Shooting in a domestic environment, where I could control what was happening, seemed like the most logical and achievable. Formulating a mindmap allowed me to figure out the best and most achievable photoshoot to explore within the home. Ideas such as, but not limited to, capturing the ordinary, invisible, empty moments, or documenting people within the home, while removing expression and gesture to reflect on Thomas Ruffs ‘Dead Pan’ approach, to ‘confound our expectations of discovering a person’s character through their appearance’ (Cotton, 2014, p. 106). Face masks remove facial expressions, forcing us to come up with a conclusion about the person beneath with very little information.

Nick Waplington perfectly captured the reality of life and the sporadic moments that occur from day to day by taking snapshots of families during their most intimate and personal periods using his film camera. Removing the context within his images allows the mind to create theories about what is taking place. ‘Living Room’ (1991) is a perfect example of this and one that I analysed well to understand what an indecisive moment could be. ‘A time full of uncertainty and disorganisation, mixed emotions and lack of stability in the area. Waplington’s use of a fast shutter speed has frozen at least eight different moments in time, if not more that we cannot see directly’ (Powell, 2021).

However, living in a small household made these sporadic and busy moments more unlikely to achieve. As a result, I took the idea of ‘isolation’ and capturing invisible moments, as Michael Wesely did by capturing double exposures of flowers and fruits decaying over time, as discussed in my Durational Space (Powell, 2020) research earlier on in the assignment. Life and death are inevitable but is not something we physically see happening unless we slow time down. Keeping the camera open while things continue to decay is one way of achieving this.

Martin Dietrich’s black and white double exposures of people in the project The Ghosts That Carried Us Away (2014) are both abstract and minimalist in nature. The ghostly figures of movement that occurred while the shutter was open paint a path of indecision and lack of freezing one moment as it happened. The removal of colour and location allows the audience to decide the story, mood and context of the image.

Nigel Shafran took snapshots of the same kitchen across various time frames, showing indecisiveness and proving that each moment is just as important as the last as it shows life.

Combining the discussed techniques and approaches, along with Shafran’s interest in the mundane and every day, encouraged me to do a test shoot and follow the life/death of perishable goods.

A quick test shoot using my Sony A57 allowed me to decide whether this was the type of project I wanted to do and what to change if anything. Direct sunlight caused my images to have vignettes due to the harsh shadows surrounding the subject and blowing out the exposure. As a result, I decided to set my final image items up in a location where the sunlight would not be too strong and ruin the compositions. I felt as if the decaying would be more visible if the items were upright and shot from the front rather than from above, allowing gravity to help with the wilting process.

Reflecting on my final images, I believe that I have understood the indecisive moment well. Hand-picking the items, organising the setup and photography timeframes; helped me to create unique and extraordinary moments of my own. I caught moments that usually go unseen, such as the movement and appearance changes during the decaying process, before overlapping the multiple images in Photoshop to create ‘double exposures’ like Wesely and Dietrich. Post-processing allowed me to enhance the shadows, textures and shapes within each layered image, formulating photographs full of movement, colour and grain similar to Waplington’s film photography. Examples of this are the most prominent in images Four, Six, Eight and Twelve, where the colours are highly saturated and dark compared to 4, 8 and 12 (Powell, 2021). The ordinary and every day is beautiful, as is the natural process of life and death, which isn’t the same for everyone, making each cycle just as valuable and unique.

This assignment has taught me the importance of composition, the beauty of the mundane, helping me ‘understand both the decisive and (in)decisive moment in a much clearer way and the differences between the two, albeit it is small’ (Powell, 2021).

References:

Cotton, C. (2014) The Photograph as Contemporary Art. 3rd ed. London: Thames & Hudson.

Dietrich. M. (2014) The Ghosts That Carried Us Away [image] Available at: https://www.behance.net/gallery/14029499/The-ghosts-that-carried-us-away (Accessed 30 March 2021).

Powell, L. (2020) Project 2 – Durational Space – Research [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/page/2/ (Accessed 30 March 2021).

Powell, L. (2021) (In)decisive moment practitioner research [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2021/03/28/indecisive-moment-practitioner-research/ (Accessed 30March 2021).

Powell, L. (2021) Contact sheet and final image selection [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2021/03/28/contact-sheet-and-final-image-selection-2/ (Accessed 30 March 2021).

Waplington. N. (1991) Living Room [image] Available at: https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/nick-waplington-living-room-bb/ (Accessed 30March 2021).

Assignment 2: Tutor Feedback

Assignment 2, Reflection on assignments, Reflection on feedback

Following the email submission of my second assignment ‘Collection’, I received my feedback and some files to look at to reflect the comments made by my tutor.

Here is a summary of my strengths, weaknesses and areas to improve on in future pieces of work:

Strengths:

– Appropriate assignment that shows a familiarity with still life informing conventions (vanitas) and a typology strategy.
– Hierarchy of needs well informed by reference to other art forms.
– Choice of influences drawn from coursework and research.
– Write up well researched.

Weaknesses:

– Be more concise, focus on the subject and how I approached it.
– Meandering when explaining my process, so summarise.
– Summarise and refer to blog posts to show process etc.
– Clearly show test shoots and technical details.

Areas for development:

– Tell assessor what I’ve found and summarise, be more concise.
– Clarify my intent with references and research on technical choices to back it.
– Structure and outline in any written work.

Reflection:

While my practical work is strong and shows my understanding of the brief, technical elements I’m exploring and clear research, I need to be more concise with what I’m writing. Blog posts are ideal for explaining my process in more detail, but for an assignment with a restricted word count it is better to be short and sweet with descriptions, backing it with references and knowledge.

Rather than allowing the assessor to read and come to their own conclusions about my work, I need to be clear and straightforward by telling them what I did, what I discovered during the process and how I would improve.

Glad to know that I have succeeded in most areas so early on however.

Initial thoughts about ‘The (in)decisive moment’

Assignment 3, Thoughts & Ideas

‘Create a set of between six and ten finished images on the theme of the decisive moment. You
may choose to create imagery that supports the tradition of the ‘decisive moment’ or you may
choose to question or invert the concept by presenting a series of ‘indecisive’ moments. Your
aim isn’t to tell a story, but in order to work naturally as a series there should be a linking theme,
whether it’s a location, event or particular period of time’ (Bloomfield, 2018).

Due to the current pandemic, we students are having to alter any exercises/tasks that require working in a social environment to fit the current guidelines set by the government. Due to this, I will have to work my way around this assignment from a domestic setting which is slightly disappointing as I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone by shooting street photography. Perhaps I can explore a different technique instead to push myself further?

Before I begin this assignment, I will have to research the decisive moment further, so that I can then also understand what an indecisive moment is. I must admit it’s a little difficult for me to interpret at the minute, but hopefully, with further studying and help from peers will help me formulate a set of images that fit the brief.

Unfortunately, my confidence levels for this assignment are quite low, as I’m unaware as to what I will end up with or where to begin; therefore the best option right now is to search around for definitions, examples and other such materials to help me on my way.

References

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 74. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 31 March 2020].

Exercise 3.2 – Trace

Part 3, Reflection on coursework

Summary:

For this exercise I;

– Provided the brief and shared my initial thoughts about it while considering the UK’s current lockdown and how it affected my original plans for this task.

– Briefly explained my new plans for this exercise, taking influence from my portrait work and the artist research gathered in ‘A durational space’.

– Documented the camera used and the settings, along with any changes made to these further on in the shoot.

– Inserted annotated contact sheets to show the strengths and weaknesses of each image, as well as the techniques used before analysing a few images to explain how they were shot/edited, what I discovered and what I felt worked or didn’t work.

– Reflected on the exercise as a whole, what I learnt and how my feelings have changed about it.

Brief

‘Start by doing your own research into some of the artists discussed above. Then, using slow shutter speeds, the multiple exposure function, or another technique inspired by the examples above, try to record the trace of movement within the frame. You can be as experimental as you like. Add a selection of shots together with relevant shooting data and a description of process (how you captured the shots) to your learning log‘ (Bloomfield, 2018).

Initial thoughts

Planning this exercise was challenging as social distancing and reducing travel restricted me to unpopulated areas. As a result, I decided to become the subject for this task, making the most of what was available while using previous knowledge of self-portraits.

After gathering research on various artists, the techniques I chose to explore for this shoot consisted of capturing long exposures with BULB mode, combining a moving subject with slow shutter speeds, moving the camera and creating double exposures using Photoshop. These ideas have allowed me to experiment with various methods, achieving different effects and tracing time in multiple ways. I was also able to reflect on approaches mentioned in the practitioner research.

Before shooting, I set my SONY A57 to shutter priority mode, attached a SONY 18-55 3.5-5.6 SAM lens to allow for focal length adjustment if necessary and used a high-contrast black and white filter to re-create the ghost-like effects captured in Francesca Woodman’s work. In addition to that, I lowered the ISO to 100 to reduce the camera’s sensitivity to light as the shutter would be open for longer. The ISO was increased slightly for some images to allow for more light, but no higher than 300 to avoid any blowouts.

Contact sheets:

Images:

Fig. 6. *Trace 1* (2020)
1/10 sec; f/9; ISO 400

As the SONY A57 doesn’t have a multiple exposure setting, I used continuous shoot mode to capture numerous shots by holding the shutter release button. As a result of moving with a slow shutter speed of 1/10 second, motion blur occurred, showing a trace of time similar to Michael Wesely’s work. Each piece (see Fig. 6., Fig. 7., and Fig. 8.) consists of up to 10-16 individual photographs layered on top of one another and altered to either the screen or hard light blend modes, consequently achieving the ghostly figures I desired. Using the coloured floral images brings life to the composition by inserting a pop of colour throughout the monochrome shadows. On closer inspection, the direction of movement can be seen via the curves and lines within the arrangements, informing the viewer about the motions that may have taken place across a short space of time. The contrasts enhance the texture of the hair and floral elements while also forming a white silhouette, capturing the act of disappearance.

Fig. 9. *BULB MODE* (2020)
Exposed for 4 sec; f/21 ; ISO 100

For the BULB mode experiment, I held down the shutter release whilst rapidly moving for a variety of seconds to see the outcome of each timespan. The shortest exposure time of 4 seconds (see Fig. 9.) allowed me to capture motion blur and an outline of facial features that show the circular movement of the head through the swirling curves documented. Looking at the contrasts, the viewer can see that the hair is dark, the lighter areas of skin are bright and highlighted, showing a clear distinction between black and white. As can be seen with an exposure of 6 seconds (see Fig. 10), the shadows are a blend of lighter greys rather than a deeper black due to the combination of transparency caused by a moving subject and a bright white wall that enhanced highlighted areas. The smudged path left behind from the model implies the simple act of looking side to side via the blurred lines. Using an exposure time of 11 seconds (see Fig. 11) meant that more light entered the camera, brightening the composition as a whole. The lack of features again reflects the idea of documenting disappearance as it is evident that something is there yet invisible. While the motion blur indicates movement, the traces aren’t as strong as the previous two examples.

1/5 sec; f/7.1 ; ISO 100
Fig. 12. *Moving Camera* (2020)

The final images show the results of moving both the camera and subject, but using the same settings keep some form of consistency. Tilting the camera causes an intriguing spiral to appear (see Fig. 12), drawing the eyes in and out of the image. Once again, the subject’s face is blurred as if it spinning, preserving the identity and brings mystery to the composition. A combination of contrasts brings depth to the image, as does the hand in the foreground, showing the distance between the face and arm. There are three traces of time documented in this image, movement of the camera, the journey the hand took to reach the camera and the motion of a head shaking.

Moving subject (see Fig. 13) isn’t as busy as the previous example; however, it still suggests movement regardless of the amount documented. Due to the severe blurring in front of the face, implies a swift gesture took place as multiple curved lines are overlapping one another, as opposed to a single spiral. For this particular image, I wanted to combine both static and motion to create a juxtaposition between the two, challenging the idea of a still image; however, I wasn’t successful this time round as the clothing is still slightly obscured. The fabric of the jumper brings texture to the surface of the image, therefore, not completely smooth and smudged.

Reflection

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome of this particular exercise, as a broader range of experiments took place than the previous task, which in turn allowed for a variety of results. Consequently, slow shutter speeds and long exposures helped me gather a selection of intriguing abstract images and push my abilities in a somewhat restricted situation, therefore meeting the expectations of this particular section.

As well as stepping out of my comfort zone, I made sure to reflect on the techniques and visual elements discovered in my artist research regularly to show what I learnt, instead of going on a tangent and doing my own thing without considering different techniques.

References

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 68. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 3 February 2020].

List of images:

Figure. 1. Powell, L. (2020) Contact sheet 1 [scanned document] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 2. Powell, L. (2020) Contact sheet 2 [scanned document] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 3. Powell, L. (2020) Contact sheet 3 [scanned document] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 4. Powell, L. (2020) Contact sheet 4 [scanned document] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 5. Powell, L. (2020) Contact sheet 5 [scanned document] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 6. Powell, L. (2020) Trace 1 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 7. Powell, L. (2020) Trace 2 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 8. Powell, L. (2020) Trace 3 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 9. Powell, L. (2020) BULB MODE [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 10. Powell, L. (2020) BULB MODE 2 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 11. Powell, L. (2020) BULB MODE 3 [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 12. Powell, L. (2020) Moving Camera [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Figure. 13. Powell, L. (2020) Moving subject [image] In possession of: Lauren Powell: Eastleigh.

Assignment 2 – Collection – Write Up

Assignment 2

Initial thoughts for this assignment were positive as I was ‘Excited to be challenged by creating a collection of images that are consistent in terms of concept but unique in appearance’ (Powell, 2020) and being able to list many ideas from significantly broad subjects. That, in turn, helped me decide the subject that was most appealing, leading me to focus on ‘Things’ as there were more areas available to fall back on if my initial plan didn’t work. However, despite the ability to explore various topics, there was a possibility to go off-piste and forget about the criteria; therefore, I made sure to refer to the brief regularly.

Reflecting on my initial plan for ‘Things’, I can see what ideas stayed the same or evolved throughout the test shoots and final shoot. For example, using a tripod to keep the framing consistent, experimenting with focal length and ‘Explore what makes me uncomfortable, e.g. different camera settings … lighting’ (Powell, 2020). In addition to this, however, I tested the impact of Black and White photography, the choice of objects and tones achieved by alternating the colours, lighting temperatures and textures used. Following my research, I chose to explore the traditions my selected artists used instead of the concepts portrayed, as the viewers wouldn’t have prior knowledge of this.

Sam Oster used ‘medium format black and white film’ (The Loop, 2019) that defines and enhances the minute details and robust form of the irons in Apparatus Electralia Planus with the contrasting shadows and highlights. Oster’s work, inspired by Becher’s typologies presents a grid of square cabinets, consequently splitting the composition into sections, without having to take multiple shots. Her typology influenced my decision to choose nine images to form a grid, as well as centralising the subjects to keep consistency throughout the series as recommended in the criteria ‘… a collection should reflect a single coherent idea, but you’ll also need technical rigour to match the photographs to each other ‘in the smallest details’ (Bloomfield, 2018:51).

Barry Rosenthal ‘uses monochrome backgrounds and uses the collection to add colour and depth’ (Powell, 2020) as well as organising the collected items into various groups before shooting, such as the colour blue in Blue Ocean. This approach inspired me to be selective when choosing my items and consider their groupings while keeping the conceptual link of ‘necessity’ in mind. Plain backgrounds allow the viewer to focus on the subject rather than what it’s placed on while enhancing the shadows cast by backlighting, allowing me to avoid flattening the composition.

Creating an online survey and gathering anonymous responses about ‘What everyday items
do you consider are a necessity? (Something you need) ‘(Powell, 2020), enabled me to be inspired by outside opinions rather than solely relying on my thoughts. These answers meant that I was able to collect a variety of items to experiment with and form groups from when formulating my final set.

Trialling a selection of camera settings with my SONY A57 in a test shoot solidified the direction I wanted to go in for my final shoot by analysing the strengths and weaknesses in each shot. Using colour didn’t enhance the details within the subjects, as much as using the high contrast B&W camera setting that had more of an impact when it came to the depth and texture of the composition.

A focal length of 35mm was the most suitable to allow for a reasonable amount of negative space to frame the plates and be balanced enough, so the subjects weren’t too small or too suffocated in the shot. Cool artificial lighting intensified the highlights and shadows, more so than neutral or warm light hence my decision to backlight using a cooler temperature to enhance the 3D forms. Tonal variation prevented the items from being swallowed by blocks of dark or light, therefore influenced to choose a light and mid-ranged blue plate to avoid this and select which tone was better for each item and their details. A combination of a narrow aperture of F14 and a tripod made sure that the image was sharp, preventing the viewer from being distracted by selective focus or motion blur, as well as keeping the framing and angles consistent.

After analysing the final selection, I can see that the set it is visually strong due to the intense highlights and shadows, as well as the various textures which provide the image surface with a soft, hard or rough feel. A balanced composition created by the consistent framing, choice of background and the arrangement of subjects pull the typology together as a whole, as they all bleed into one another. Deciding to use cool artificial lighting evenly lit the frame and created definition in the shot, that I found did not work as successfully with natural or warmer lighting due to the inconsistency and softness.

I am pleased with the contextual and conceptual elements hinted at in my photographs as I have stated the ‘things’ are ‘necessary items in … daily life’ (Powell, 2020), however, everyone’s view on what is necessary is different, as a result may tease out the idea of privilege, luxury, political opinions or no message at all. The concept is broad enough to direct the viewer in entirely different paths without being influenced by too much context that could affect how an image is perceived.

Pushing myself out of my comfort zone, taking more inspiration from artist research and experimenting with various techniques allowed me to complete this assignment successfully.

If I were to improve this assignment in the future, I would try to gather more responses to see how many unique items could be listed and be more thorough with my arrangement to avoid post-production to get rid of preventable marks. Typologies are new to me; therefore, it would be an intriguing area to explore in further detail.

References:

Bloomfield, R., 2018. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision. 4th ed. [pdf] Barnsley: OCA, p. 51. Available at: https://www.oca-student.com/course/photography-1-expressing-your-vision [Accessed 28 February 2020].

Powell, L. (2020) ‘Initial thoughts about ‘Collection’ + mind-map’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2020/02/11/initial-thoughts-about-collection-mind-map/ (Accessed 28 February 2020).

Powell, L. (2020) ‘Collections in photography – Artist research + test shoot plan’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2020/02/17/collections-in-photography-artist-research-test-shoot-plan/ (Accessed 28 February 2020).

Powell, L. (2020) ‘Community Survey + Personal Research Results for ‘Things’. [online] Available at: https://laurenpowelloca.photo.blog/2020/02/13/community-survey-personal-research-results-for-things/ (Accessed 28 February 2020).

Oster, S. (2009) Apparatus Electralia Planus [image] Available at: https://www.theloop.com.au/project/silvertrace/portfolio/short-circuit/17421 (Accessed 28 February 2020).

Powell, L. (2020) ‘Necessary Everyday Items’. [online] Available at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/KWWFQGM (Accessed 28 February 2020).

Rosenthal, B. (2013) Blue Ocean [image] Available at: http://barryrosenthal.com/found-in-nature/single-gallery/16729872 (Accessed 28 February 2020).

The Loop. (2019) ‘Short Circuit – Sam Oster Portfolio – The Loop’. [image] Available at: https://www.theloop.com.au/project/silvertrace/portfolio/short-circuit/17421 (Accessed 13 February 2020).