Overall Evaluation

Since the beginning of the year we have been undergoing the workshop project. This consisted of several mini projects under one brief. The aim being to explore new techniques and create new skills, overall producing an outcome for each one.

At the beginning of the project when we were given our brief I was excited to get back to work and get my teeth into something I could really work on. This enthusiasm lasted not long at all. This was the biggest disappointment and I feel like I really let myself down. I just didn't have the motivation I had in the beginning and found it really hard to get back on track through the project because of it. It wasn't until I got to my self-directed project that I really got this enthusiasm and drive back. I feel like this may have been too little too late. Areas like darkroom and also my blog had suffered because of my laziness and there is no one to blame but myself.

Surprisingly the areas that I have avoided in the past due to not enjoying them are the ones that have thrived in this project. Digital has never really been an interest of mine but this project has changed that. I found my fill flash and my self-directed project to be challenging but in a constructive way, overall being enjoyable and the time when I was most engaged in my work.

To do this time over I would have found areas that got me motivated and back on track. I love to blog and it’s a shame that this was affected by my motivation. If maybe I would have put some effort in and found artist work that got me fired up and ready to work this would have made my time be more well spent and possibly got more outcomes for the medium format work like I wanted to.

Even though I lacked motivation I’m so happy with all the outcomes for this project and think that each and every one responds to the brief strongly and is clear to see. 

Final Images - Depth of Field

I decided to choose these three images as my final prints as I think that they all best show the type of depth of field that I was trying to capture as best as I could. I am really happy with the outcomes as i think that they are well composed and make really strong pictures on there own. I feel that they strongly show my capability in this area and also my new skills in the darkroom. 

Evaluation - Depth of Field

As part of my brief I had to undertake a number of workshops to learn new skills in different areas of photography. The first one was to explore depth of field and create 3 final prints that were to show long, mid and shallow depth of field. To do this project I would have to use a 5x4 camera and print in color.

As I had already had to use the 5x4 camera in a previous project I found it pretty straightforward and knew all the parts of the camera and how to set it up. I found this to be a big help as I wasn’t there at the beginning of the project and had to play catch up. It would have been really difficult if I had to learn to use the camera as well. I really like shooting 5x4 as I think that the prints that it produces are stunning and I think that for depth of field work, especially shallow, you can really see the eyes and make sure its sharp and focused right. It also makes you slow down and really think about the shot because it can be expensive and you want to make sure you can get the perfect shot in as little amount of frames as possible. I think that using the camera and getting some really nice images was strength of mine in this project and something that I was able to get better at by having more practice. 

The use of the dark room however was definatly a weakness for me. I found it really hard to even get myself in there to do the prints as I really feel uncomftorble in the dark. I found it hard to calm down enough to be able to focus on what I was doing. However with the help of Tim and some of my classmates I was able to get in and do it. I found it simple enough to print my images, just minor problems such as being able to put negs in and make contact sheets proved to be challenging but overall I got there in the end. 

I found it rather hard to find research that was really focused on the area of depth of field and also photographers that used it as a main style. It was more of choose a photographer that I liked and then looking through there images and seeing if I could spot shots that showed depth of field and that I could talk about the style and how its been used. I realized that this would be the best approach after coming across a lot of images that just showed depth of field as a technique rather than an image on its own. After this I found it rather easy to gather research, however I didn’t manage to get as much as I normally would like too but I think that as it was just a workshop what I gathered was enough to help me in my practical work. 

Through out this workshop I have had to encounter some new experiences as well as old. I found some of them to be challenges that have really tested my skills. Overall I am happy with my prints and think that they have hit the target of producing 3 images that show a range in depth of field. I am really happy with the quality of my printing and am rather proud of the images as a first attempt in the colour darkroom. If I were to do this workshop again I would make myself spend more time in the darkroom as I think that this was my biggest problem throughout this workshop. Overall I am really impressed with my final prints.

Print in B+W

I really liked this image and one of the main things that attracted me to the image when I first took it were all the colours, however I really seemed to struggle to get the colours right in the darkroom. They seemed good okay but I didn’t really like it. I felt like it was too overpowering and that the colours were over whelming me. I decided to try and turn it to black and white and see what I thought. 

Personally I think that it makes the eyes slightly stronger, and I like the different subtle tones created by the colours of the leafs, but over all I cant really decide how I like the image better. Also I am really trying to explore colour more and I think that this might be taking the easier way out. Maybe I should spend more time in the darkroom to make sure that I perfect this image.

Artist Research - Sebastiao Salgado

This is again another photographer that I liked the work of when I came across his books in a shop in Brazil. I have looked through an Internet library of his work and picked out some that I think are relevant as they show a great use of depth of field. 

I think that this image has a fun factor about it. The black and white gives the image a timeless and classic feel but I think its fun the way that he’s got a fish stuck on the end of his finger. Images like this are often very serious and have a sad feel but I think that this one could be taken a little light heartedly almost like "this is all I’ve been able to catch?" I just really like the attitude that the model seems to be portraying.. (Well this is what I get from the image). 

I think that what is going on in the background, although out of focus because of the mid depth of field, it is still easy to make out what is happening. This adds to the image in the foreground as you can see those in the background are fishing. I think that this is something I could think about, just because the background may not be in sharp focus it could still help and strengthen the story that is in the main aspect of the image in the foreground. 

This is a really good example to show the distance and range of the depth of field. You can see the man in the foreground of the image that is the main focus. He is sharp and full of detail, yet the 2 in the back are blurred. I would say that this is a mid depth of field. I like this because it isn’t a typical portrait, there are other people in the content of this shot but they aren’t the main focus. I think that the intention in this image is to try and get the emotion of the workers through in the main subjects face, and that is why he is sharp and full of detail, but the fact that there are other workers behind him shows that he isn’t the only one who is feeling this emotion, there are many.

This is a real shallow depth of field (well it looks it to me) only the eyes appear to be in clear focus. This is exactly the look I am going for I think that the eyes are the area that tells the story in an image and especially the emotion of the subject so it seems fitting that these are the only thing in focus. I like the framing of the image; it’s a simple standard portrait. The photographer seems to be at a bit of a low angle looking slightly up at the man. This makes me think that maybe he has a bit of power or feels threatened by the man? I also quite like this as the sky makes for a neutral background, almost like a studio background.