Process Panic

So i processed my 5x4 film with out help, except from Ray, on my own today. All i can say is its a good job no one was out side the door listening into us as it would have sounded all wrong. We forgot a lot of things and didn't remember till it was too late so going to make some bullet points too keep in mind for next time:

• Make sure i am defiantly aware of the time needed to develop before i load all the film. I know i could close all the box up but i would probably forget something and mess the film up so best to know for sure before i start.
• Remember when agitating to tip the basket to a side to let the chemical drain off.
• Make sure all the clips are facing the right way so its easy enough to get them into the neg holder.
• Make sure i have enough neg holder carriers.
• Charge the clock!
• Make sure lids are off before you place the neg carrier in the tub.

I know it sounds stupid but i really didn't expect it to be that dark. I thought maybe my eyes would adjust but they really didn't.

Edward Weston

The reason i chose to look at Edward Weston is because i really like the composition of his images and also what he take pictures of. Its like he creates patterns in his shots and they really make up the image. I dont know if he does this intentally but i really like him all the more just for the fact he does.

 

 

The patterns in the sand are what really draws me to this image. I like the almost ripple of the sand created by the wind. The patterns in the bottom area of the image stupidly remind me of the image describing evolution (the monkey showing all the changes till the walking human). This just a stupid link that i initially thought when looking at it.  Al;so the way the light hits the patterns really gives detail to the image. Makes a contrast.

Shoot 3 - Part 2

This shows part 2 of my shoot. I didn't want to just shoot the Roses as they were i wanted to try and make it fun and different. So i decided to throw powder paint at them in really bright colours. This is why i wanted the flowers to be really white however i think that the colours are still really bright and clear. 

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1. This image is too dark. I don't like how you cant see the flowers clearly on both the left and the right of the shot. I do like the crop, how you cant see the bottom of the vase. Also not enough colour on the flowers. Its not really noticeable and not what i am looking for in this shoot.
2. You can see them a lot more clearer in this image. I like the framing and the fact that it is portrait. I think that this would work well as maybe the centre of my 3 to show the slight difference. I also like how you can see some of the paint on the bottom of the shot (on the table) 
3. This is way too bright. The lighting is not at all what i want. Loose alot of detail in the flowers and also you cant really see the powder paint. Can also make out the round edges of the table what is a big mistake. I want the table to be undetectable. 
4. This is almost an action shot. I really like how you can see some of the green paint in the air before it hits the flowers. The green is really bright and stands out nicely on the black back drop. I think that the more colour i add the better it looks. 
5.  Like the high angle nature of the shot however i don't think that it is a good shot over all. Slightly too dark in places.
6. This is really too dark and the fact that i have shot from further back means that alot of the detail is lost. I'm really starting to like the addition of more colour though and think that the flowers are looking really funky and represent me more.
7. Again like the capture of paint in mid air however this time i caught some motion blur that i don't really like. Also maybe a bit too dark. Could try and edit this on photo shop to try and brighten it slightly.
8. This is defiantly my favourite from this part of the shoot. I think that the flowers look really colourful and bright and you can see all the detail in them. I also like the dark black background what really makes the flowers pop of the page.

Beautiful Destinations

So this might sound a bit stupid but i have decided to put some images in that people on Instagram have taken/posted. I follow this page called Beautiful Destinations just to remind me what I'm aiming for. And there is some stunning landscape images that get posted on there with really interesting colours and compositions. So i have just pulled a few out as examples. I only wish i could do some of my shots in these idyllic places.

http://web.stagram.com/n/beautifuldestinations/?npk=412450115578639461_276192188

(names underneath are the peoples Instagram tags who has credit for the image) 

@jaycarva

What i like about this shot is that i have been to Rio and experienced this however i never truly seen the beauty of it when i was there. I wish i could have taken shots on the cable car rather than been to scared to even let go of the hand rail. I like the soft lighting from what looks like the sun is going down,  and the patterns in the clouds.

@n_alshaer

This is just so bright at colourful and i really like the way that you are looking down the image. Makes it easy to see the aqua blue lake. Also like how you loose the tops of the mountains into the clouds.

@elioharoun

What i like most about this is really rhe same as the image from Rio. Its the soft lighting that gives a warm glow too the buildings and really the whole image. 

Snap Shots

On the way to Leeds the other day and i thought i would take some snap shots of the landscape around me in the car (i was not driving). There not very good and there wasn't much really to see but still i thought it was good to get some research and ideas...

I like the idea of factories, works and also run down areas being captured in the shots because this is really relate able to what i see daily living in the north east and i think that this makes for really interesting photographs. 

Shoot 3 - Part 1

So i really didn't like the way that the shoots using shoes were going. And i didn't think that it had any connection to me really so i decided to just go the cheesy rout and do a photo shoot using the thing that i was named after. i wanted them to be white so that they really popped off the background but these were as white as i could get them, and i didn't really think that it mattered so much considering what i was going to do to them. I used a black background and one light using barn door attachment. 

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I did take a lot of images of just the plain white flowers however they all look really similar so i chose just 4 to put into my contact. 

1. What i like about this image is the fast that you cant see anything under the flowers they look as thought they are floating. i know the lighting is really dark on one side and i could have used a reflector to add light onto this however i do really like the way that it fades into the darkness. 
2. This image is the closest shot that i did. I didn't really want to get too close to the flowers because i wanted to capture negative space around them. I like the depth of field on this image, the way that the further back the flowers are the less in focus they are. 
3. This shot is quite dark compared to the rest and will need a lot more editing to try and make it look how i would want it too. However i like the framing and the composition. I like that you can clearly see the vase and the stems of the flowers. Again maybe a reflector used on the right had side to highlight those areas slightly.
4. I like the angle of this picture, the way that you are looking down onto the flowers. Also how they are in the centre of the frame. 

Edits: 

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3

1. i was just playing about on photo shop with this image and seeing what i could do to try and make the Roses more of a white colour like i wanted them to be. And just messing about i changed it to this pinky colour what i really like. I think that you can see more detail when they are this colour. And i just like the colour. I don't want them to be like this in my overall outcome i just like it as an image on its own.
2. This shows me getting the flowers to the colour that i maybe would have liked them to be. This is okey for this single image but when i carry out the next stage of my shoot i would not be able to make the images all this colour. And i want some continuity if i want to produce a trip tick possibly.
3. This is extreme of editing to try and get them white and i really quite like it. This is definitely the colour i would have liked them too be. This didn't even change into black and white as you can still see the colour in the stems and the vase. 

Jonathan Knowles

Again just browsing still life images on google and i really liked one of his images (exploding chilli) so i took a look at his page. 

What i like about these two images is the really bleached out background. Yet the items that he is taking the picture of look correctly exposed. This is what i would like to achieve when working with a white backdrop. I also like the concept of the chili and the light bulb exploding. I would maybe like to try this or try spoiling the item in a away to maybe make a trip tick. Would have to use a really fast shutter speed so that you didn't get too much motion blur. 

However this is the one that really caught my eye. I think that the background used is what really sets the image off. I like the way that it kind of emulates the pattern on the lolly pop however its darker so that you don't loose the lolly in the image, its still very clear. I like the vignetting on the image so that it faides out at the corners this makes you focus on the lolly.

Shoot 2

These are some of the images from my second shoot. I think that they maybe worse than my first ones! I'm really finding this project challenging. I have decided to use shoes again but this time i found something that did have a personal meaning to it. I decided to use my Irish dancing shoes. Again just on a simple white background with 2 light set up.  these images are unedited some need slightly cropping of tweaking

The lighting wasn't set up right in this shot. You cant see any detail in the shoes and there is really harsh shadows what i don't like. 

I think that this is the best one out of the group. i just like that its not zoomed in on the shoes. You can see that there hanging. I like the framing and the fact that they are almost in the centre of the frame. I think that the lighting is the best in this shot and i even kind of like the slight shadow created by the shoes as i think that it adds a bit of depth to the image.

this is the same shot as the one about however with this one i got closer to the shoes to take the shot. I don't think i like this one as much. The shadows look harsher and i don't like the highlight created by the flash against the leather. I do like the little bit of colour that you can see inside the shoes. maybe would look better if it was slightly zoomed out a bit more. 

I did this shot simply as an experiment because i really like the idea of unique compositions and framing however i just don't think i can pull it off. I didn't want to get the hole set up in. I just don't think it has worked but i still give it a shot. 

I really don't like this shot. I don't think the shoes look good in this position and the addition of the neckless doesn't fit with the image. Also looks slightly wonky. shadows are harsh however like the exposure of the background. 

Adam Burton

I don't really know many landscape photographers at all so i just google imaged it and i came across Adam Burton. I really like his images because i think that they hold a lot of detail and you can see that great thought and care has been put into getting the perfect shot. 

 I think that the subtle reflection of the mountains in the lake really finish off the already stunning detail captured in the shot. I like the soft lighting that makes it so that the image isn't over powered by contrast. I like the fact that there isn't much sky in this shot too. Sometimes i think photographers maybe put too much sky in there shots. 

Christoph Segal

The images that i have selected have a rather fashion based still life feel to them. I have chose these because i like the idea of taking pictures of shoes because i kind of have an obsession (not so much with heels but rather vans and comfy shoes ha). 

I think  that the composition of the accessories in the image is really what drawed me to them. I like that they are piled on top of each other or arranged in unusual ways. Also like the gold shoes with the glitter falling out of it. I just think that it makes the image a lot more interesting by arranging them in this way rather than just plain and standard.

Andy Barter

I really like this image. I think that its amazing how he has managed to only burn just a perfect half of barbies face. I like the weird distortion of her face caused by the burnt area. I think the composition of the shot is unusual too. there is a large area of negative space that normally would look daft however i think that it works in this case. It just amused me.. 

Dennis Pedersen

I kind of got stuck on what to search for to get some nice newer still life shots so i decided to just type in still life and click what comes up. And i must say i really like these pictures. i like them because they have a kind of fun aspect to them there not so serious. 

I think that his is my favourite of the images just because of the clever arrangement of the plastic bag so that it looks like a horses head. I also like the lighting coming through the bag to create different tones of blue and make the image have a bit more depth and life to it. I think that this is a really simple shot but there has been so much time and effort made to get it perfect and i think that really shows. Its a very clever shot. 

Again this shows so much time and attention to detail in it. The ribbon lines are so carefully paced so that they are straight and all have an even gap between them. I also like the positioning of the hair dryer so that it is in the centre of the frame. Also like the way that all the colours in the shot compliment each other and work well together. These are small attention to details that make the shot so much nicer. 

I love this picture. Again like the rest of the images i think that it has been so well thought out and planned and you can really see that in the image, i like the composition of the nail varnish pots and also the really bright summery colours that have been chosen. The lighting is really nice as i like the shadows created in front of the nail varnish. Almost looks like its trying to emulate the light created by the sun. 

This image looks like it has movement to me (if that makes sense) it looks busy and full yet its simply just a pallet of make-up. I like the detail created by the different textures and surfaces of each individual square of blusher. I also like the colours used.

I feel like i could go on for ever with his work. There are so many great images. I think i might have found a still life photographer that actually gives me enthusiasm about the subject! hope i can take some tips and explore my own still life style... 

Shoot 1

When we first got the brief me and Rachel went straight into the studio and had a bash a still life. She took to it like a duck to water. However i not so easily. Here are some of the images i captured from my first shoot. 

i decided to use my vans as i really couldn't think of anything really that i wanted to take pictures of. And there my fave pair so i thought why the hell not! 

The reason i placed the shoes like this is so that you could see the 'vans of the wall' logo on the back of them. However i don't think that this has worked out well at all. Maybe if i zoomed in on the logo so you could see it, that would have probably been a good place to start! Also i don't really like the grayness of the background to be honest. 

Again i think that i should have maybe used another light or maybe just played around with the settings a bit more because there not as bright as i would have liked them too be and also there isn't much light on the front shoe. Maybe use the second light to the left of the image.

While in the studio i began working with a black background. However i didn't think that this was really working well as i wanted to try and stay away from dark shots. So i then switched over to begin using the white one.

I did this composition to show both the front and the back of the vans. I should have maybe used a reflector to get rid of some of the shadows in the shot. 

I think that this is my favourite image from the shoot. I would have liked a bit more light on the shoe on the left as it is slightly darker however i like the brightness of the background and also the composition of the shot. would maybe slightly crop so that the shoes were made exactly in the centre.

i like the idea behind this image because people may not know what shoes they are from this single shot but people who know vans shoes will know exactly what they are because of the squiggle line. I just wish that the lighting was a bit more even and brighter. 

Let Down

im letting myself down big style in this project. i really just cant get into it!! someone lend me some motivation?

Direction

For my landscape research i have decided to start with the more obvious choices in research and then advance out into photographers i would have thought before our first lecture were not considered landscape photographers. I want to gather a wide range of research for this projects to reassure myself what I'm doing is right and also hopefully find a style i like and something that could maybe influence my own work...

Catherine Chalmers

When we were in Bradford i seen a set of images by this photographer and i jotted down her name because i really liked them and got some inspiration from her.

I like the idea of shooting things being eating or decaying. Making a set of images to go as my final piece rather than just the one (maybe splitting my image into 4 smaller images)

Here are some examples of her work:

There is a last image to these three also however i cant seem to find it. These were the images that i seen in the gallery. I just think that they are really simple but have a quirky edge to them. 

This also is the same concept. However this i feel is a bit harsher and probably less likely to re-create something like this with it being live animals eating each other. (Like the idea but don't think i could witness it. too much of an animal lover) 

Couldn't Sleep

So many nights ago i couldn't sleep and decided to try and read a book or something. then i seen my camera and though why not have a look and try and shoot some stupid images to maybe go for research on still life. I started messing on with shutter speeds and stuff. It wasn't very good but i did capture this shot that i really like. Not the best but good i think for a sleepless night

I really just like the way the candle lights the book and also the frame. And I'm really surprised that there isn't really any movement captured in the image.