Introduction to Digital Imaging - Research

An Introduction to Digital Imaging - Research

An image from a book:

'Salford' (2000) Shirley Baker

This image is from a book called Streets & Spaces, Urban Photography by Shirley Baker.
Part of a series of photographs taken on the streets and spaces of Manchester and Salford, that were commissioned by The Lowry to revisit the areas Baker already knew and had photographed during the 1960s and 70s. It is a fascinating photo book that documents the social and environmental changes that have taken place between that era and the year of the millennium.

Taken in Salford in what looks like a neglected council estate, this image tells us so many things:

• It portrays the children of that year and what they are wearing. They have recogniseable brand labels on, despite the poor surroundings
• The boys glasses look like NHS standard issue - a sign of the social financial state along with the neglected environment
• The same boy has a metal rod of some description, surely this should still be a toy at this age
• The other boys appear to be enjoying causing discomfort to this boy, I wonder if they are his friends or enemies
• So much litter and boarded up windows, no pride in the neighbourhood
• A boy to the left in the image is smiling and waving coyly, he is set aside from the others, this gives him the appearance of a gentler nature
• Some of the boys stand behind one another in a line, perhaps not wanting to be photographed
• Not a place I would want to walk through on my own

An image from The Tate Gallery:

'Providence, Rhode Island', (1976) Francesca Woodman

One of the many self-portraits American photographer Woodman took during her all too short life, it is one of the few that features her face fully. Her images are shot on mainly on medium format film, giving them detail but retaining a slightly soft accessible quality. Woodman sadly took her own life at the age of 22, which, leaves the viewer to wonder if they are seeing into her troubled mind.

Taken on Rhode Island in 1976, it is a haunting image that is part of a very tragic and sad story:

• Why does she want us to see her naked? Perhaps an exploration of her sexuality and femininity
• She looks vulnerable and defensive by the positioning of her arms and feet
• A small image in a large room, does she feel small?
• The dark negative of a body on the floor looks like a shadow or ghost, it is actually an impression of herself
• I wonder if the shoes are significant, are they to simply protect her feet or is it a message that she is not fully exposing herself
• The surrounding environment is bleak and uninhabited, a stark contrast to her naked form
• This leaves me with a feeling of isolation and sadness, this may be just how she felt, projected outwards in her photography

An image from a website:

'Qubar', (2007) Yuri Kozyrev

Found on 'Lensculture' website, this image has been taken by Yuri Kozyrev, a Russian photojournalist who is a contract photographer for Time. For the last 25 years, he has captured nearly every major conflict since the fall of the Soviet Union. This image is also part of a series that tells a very troubled tale of war.

Taken in Qubar in 2007, it features a US soldier numbering the necks of men and hands of women in that particular area:

• An unhappy situation in a war torn country
• Every family face I see, looks anxious and worried
• Even the children are affected and one looks as if to see what is being written
• I wonder if the family fully understand what is taking place, their worry is concerning
• They look huddled together for protection
• The soldier looks expressionless, just carrying out orders
• A lot of ammunition can be seen behind, geared up for conflict
• There is no resistance from the family suggesting compliance most likely due to the military presence

Bibliography

Baker, S (2000). Streets and Spaces - Urban Photography. Manchester: Lowry Press. p.10.

Kamber, M. (2014). Photojournalists on War . Available: https://www.lensculture.com/articles/michael-kamber-photojournalists-on-war?utm_source=General+List&utm_campaign=f89ebef0a1-Newsletter+Vol+19.14&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1724e682d-f89ebef0a1-88770. Last accessed 14th May 2014.

Noor. (2014). Photographers - Yuri Kozyrev. Available: http://noorimages.com/photographer/kozyrev/. Last accessed 14th May 2014.

O'Hagan, S. (2010). Francesca Woodman – Review. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/nov/21/francesca-woodman-photographs-miro-review. Last accessed 14th May 2014.

Pictures of the Year International. (2011). Photographer of the Year - Freelance/Agency. Available: http://www.poyi.org/69/41/index.php. Last accessed 14th May 2014.

Tate. (2014). Artist Rooms artist essay. Available: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francesca-woodman-10512. Last accessed 14th May 2014.

Art History - Modernism

Modernism - Class Notes

How have technical advances advances affected the manner in which photography has evolved?

 

The modernism movement arose in the late 19th and early 20th century and can be dated back to 'The Great Exhibition of 1851'. The Great Exhibition although at the time, it was presented as a great feat of modernism, its expression was early and only eventually influential. It served as an announcement of a new regime and presented 'new ways of thinking'.

The Great Exhibition (1851)

Opposition
The British bourgeoisie were strongly opposed and unwilling to accept modernism. They were a social class whose power came from employment, education and the industrialised world as opposed to those whose power came from being born into an aristocratic family. Their power waned as the advancement of industrial technology showed that they would not be needed anymore.
The Romantic movement also opposed modernism, the poets, William Blake and William Wordsworth called it 'monstrous', writing many poems to express their feelings towards the movement.
The Industrial Revolution
Through the industrial revolution, new ideas were being presented that caused excitement and rebellion against 'traditional' thinking.

'We affirm that the worlds magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty, the beauty of speed.' Futurist Manifesto (1905).

These new ideas had started to replace traditional thinking by which, the new modern world had started to rely on. Through this movement became a dependence, a 'faith in machines', which, is ever more apparent in recent times.

• The Eifel Tower, built in 1889 is viewed as a personification of 'the melding of man and machine'
• Considered an engineering marvel of the 19th century 
• Philosopher 'Roland Barthes', saw projections of the two sexes incorporated into the stucture

Lewis Hine was a key photographer during this period of transformation:

Icarus, (1931) Lewis Hine

• Depicts man's faith in technology
• Contrasts with traditional Neoclassicism thinking, in which the higher up in a painting one was, the closer to god they were.
• Technological advancements make this image possible
• If this man falls he would most certainly die

 This image is likened to that of the Greek myth 'Icarus':

The Sun or the Fall of Icarus, (1819) Merry-Joseph Blondel

• Icarus, the son of a master crafstman 'Daedalus', attempts to flee Crete with wings constructed by his father, made from feathers and wax
• Warned by his father not to fly to high or low
• Ignored the warnings and flew too close to the sun, resulting in his wings melting
• Fell to the sea and drowned 

Task - From Modernism to Post-Modernism 

Compare the works of  Lewis Hine and Sebastiao Salgado

'Power House', (1920) Lewis Hine

'Kuwait', (1991) Sebastiao Salgado

Lewis Hine:

• Taken during the era of the great depression
• Depicts masculinity
• Surrounded by the machinery that defines his job
• Man winning against machinery, taut muscles straining
• Raises the profile of manual labour
• Very clean and well groomed look to the young man depicted
• Looks posed, not natural, the machinery too clean

Sebastiao Salgado:

• Direct comparison features a male worker set against circular object
• Projects the entirely opposite message of Hines promotion of industry
• Looks downtrodden, beaten by machine perhaps
• On first inspection, his role is not made clear by the surroundings
• Completely covered in what looks like oil, modern life biting back
• Technology and machinery may have made us lazy, the man is overweight and not perhaps up to the task before him
• Not staged, looks natural and realistic
• Has industry turned against us?

 

Art Movement History

Brief History of Art from Neoclassicism

Class Notes

Neoclassicism (1750-1820)

• The church dominated
• People in power use art to keep power
• Low Literacy amongst the general people, making art a tool
• Heaven and Hell

 

Romanticism (1800-1850)

• Revolt against aristocratic, social and political power
• The age of enlightenment
• An escape from modern life

Realism (1850-1880)

• The depiction of subjects as they appear in real life

Impressionism (1860-1920)

• Artist concerned with the play of light and tones
• A different way of seeing  

Modernism (1860- present)

• A philosophical movement that arose from the transformations and developments of Western society
• Celebration of science, technology and industry
• Socially progressive 

Art Nouveau (1890-1910)

• New art
• Focused on the decorative arts dedicated to natural forms
• Widespread and highly commercial  

Bauhaus (1919-1933)

• A school in Germany which, aimed to combine crafts and the fine arts
• Famous for the approach to design that is well publicised 

Post-Modernism (1960's- present)

• Movement in the arts and architecture
• Criticism that rejected the modernist avant garde
• Passion for the new

Intentional Signifiers and Signified language in my Images

The Task:
To produce at least three images depicting different messages by using different techniques, views or situations. An object, person or scene may used to accomplish this but there must be distinct signifiers and signified messages in each image.
For this task, I have used one of my fellow students as a model and photographed him in different poses and environments.

Image 1

The signifier in image 1 and 2 is a young man in what appears to me to be a compromised situation. The fallen tree trunk in image 1 strikes me as uncomfortable and I find myself not wanting him to venture out any further despite him being quite at home. Image 2 sees a serious facial expression and again I am concerned for safety reasons even though my model is more than confident in his venture. His hand near his face in image 1 implies thinking and that is actually true, had the surface not been so slippy, he would have carried on walking further out. I intended to show a young carefree person in my images and hope this is what I achieved rather than showing my unease with the situation.

Image 2

My judgement is no doubt coloured by my dislike of heights and perhaps because I am a mum and have natural protective instincts. A younger person viewing these images may well look at them and consider the activity 'fun' or perhaps wonder if he is protesting against something whilst perched on the tree trunk. I know that the descent from the container in image 2 happened quite safely but it does look like Rob is considering the distance to the ground and his crouched position further enforces this belief.

Image 3

In image 3 we see a very different view of the same person which, shows us him checking a photograph on the camera playback. His hand gripping the wire door may look as though he is unsteady, the truth is that his hand was the subject of his photography and he simply hadn't removed it.

Image 4

Image 4 has been taken at a slightly upwards angle to add a feeling of importance to the person in the image. We see here a student looking like he is interested in the computer screen. In reality, this is the log on screen and my model is just pretending to do some work at this point.







Conclusion
I found this exercise interesting and fun to carry out. I had to really think about the signified message I would be giving out in my images and whether it would be understood by viewers. Simply taking a photograph of any subject isn't that difficult but it takes a lot more skill and consideration to purposely deliver an understandable message. The messages we read into an image will always be clouded or influenced by our own experiences of life and social upbringing, something else to consider when trying to project a message through your photography. In my images above, the aim was to portray my fellow student in many different lights and hopefully influence the viewers opinion of him. I believe that I achieved my aim to a certain extent, however because of his clothes, he does retain a young and carefree look in all the images and to substantially change perception, a change of style would most likely be required.

Semiotics - Messages in Advertising

Semiotics is the study of visual language or 'messages' that we interpret within an image or advert.
There are two parts to the process, the first being, 'the signifier', which is the material aspect of what we see in front of us. The second part is 'the signified', which is the message implied in what we see. This is heavily used in advertising as companies try to sell their goods to us in a subtle way which is also influenced by our cultural history.

The Signifier:
In the image above, advertising the new 'Beetle' car, what we see is a group of Beetle cars on a pedestrian crossing.
The Signified:
This is imitating the very famous album cover of 'The Beatles, Abbey Road', as a signified message. The Beatles were an extremely popular and successful band who conveyed a message of being 'cool' or 'hippie'. We also see an older model of the Beetle just behind the newer models perhaps telling the tale of how long they have been around. The cars being treated as people also adds a message of character to them and how they integrate into society. The advertising appears to be aimed at women not men owing to bright colours and lack of technical data about the cars.

The cars are placed in the same format as the band were on their famous album cover. There was myth surrounding the release of this album, claiming Paul McCartney had died and some people claim the line of the band members resembles a funeral procession. This obviously wasn't true but perhaps the new and updated cars refer to this as they have survived the test of time and are still very much in circulation.

Little Ant & Dec's Farmyard Kitchen -- Out in the Field

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6pKxNyC_Vc&noredirect=1#t=94 

The Signifier:
This advertising video shows us two little boys imitating 'Ant and Dec' who are presenters on National Television. We are introduced at the beginning of the video with them looking around a farm for a mothers day present, meeting/talking with the farmer and followed by them making cakes with a chef.
The Signified:
This video appears to be aimed directly at mum's, telling them how rural, fresh and special Morrisons is. This is especially evident in the talk between the two boys and the farmer as he explains how rare and special the cows are. The two boys in the video are treated patience and care, perhaps Morrisons trying to tell us how well looked after our families will be with them? In the kitchen while making cakes, all the ingredients are available at Morrisons and owing to the farm tour, we are influenced to think how fresh everything is. The end result of the video is the boys taking care of mum thanks to the help of advertising store.

Conclusion/Evaluation
I find this subject extremely interesting and wonder how much of the advertising messages I have 'missed' over the years. I have found that I don't always know what message a company is trying to convey to me so it is of great value to me to analyse how this is meant to be accomplished. Some advertising companies are not subtle with their messages and we can't fail to 'get' this but others try to be more clever and reach into our subconscious thoughts to trigger a response. The success of this depends on our experiences and what we have been exposed to through our lives.

Introduction to Digital Imaging - Lighting and how it affects an image

Lighting and how we use or manipulate it can dramatically affect the mood or feel of an image and ultimately how we read what we see in a photograph. This applies to both studio photography shoots and location. Studio lighting is easier to control in many ways as we can manipulate the light entirely and can even use coloured gels over the lights to affect our final image. Even our choice of how to light the background will have a profound effect on the final outcome and mood of what we see. High key and low key photography are as the names suggest, complete opposite effects to each other, having tried both in the studio, I find that I much prefer low key images. Low key photography is moody and dramatic which brings out detail or texture of the subject or person, capturing them in quite a harsh way. High key appears to me to be 'happy photography'; its use being greatly varied in portraits, commercial, fashion and other areas of imagery.

One of my own low key studio images

My own high key image taken in the studio

Location photography is ultimately more challenging as our shooting time is subject to the natural elements, consequently making use of good or bad weather and even the time of day becomes paramount to success. Artificial lighting can be utilised for location photography, however this is limited to the range of the lights used and is usually used for specific subjects i.e. fashion shoots, singular objects and portraits. My current project is trees in the urban environment and I am experiencing all the challenges associated with photographing outdoors. Lighting for areas such as landscape or cityscapes are purely at the mercy of the elements as I will try to portray with the following examples.

Matthew Paulson 2011

I appreciate the dark tones in this low key image as it brings out the detail of the impressive tree roots. I am left with a feeling of age and majesty, which, I think would have been lost in a high key image. My eye also sees the runner about to pass the tree and imagine that he is glad of the shade provided by the trees. I feel that the photographer wants us to pay attention to the trees in our environment rather than just pass them by. The monochrome appearance also enhances the dark tones and removes distractions that may have been present in colour.

Rob Cartwright 2012

This image is using also fairly low key lighting, making good use of the long shadows, which, is most probably evening. The use of silhouettes and dark tones leave an impression of cold in my mind. The trees are also bare which tells us it is winter. The area that is lit reveals a home that perhaps the person depicted is returning to.

Samuel Geer 2014

Samuel Geer 2014

Both of these images are fairly high key and have used good light to their advantage. This helps to portray the season in a similar way to the low key images and I feel it suits the suburban environment depicted. The deliberate regular urban planting is very evident and makes it look like a nice place to live, which, is most likely, an intentional result. Without the use of colour, the seasons in these images would be lost.



Conclusion/Evaluation
Light is a key element of photography and alongside all the other essential factors; it needs to be experimented with. I have personally found it to be quite a challenge getting the light right in my location images and indeed the studio. Although the studio is controllable it still requires different approaches with light sources, positions and strengths to get the final image how you wish it to be. Examining other photographer's work, especially what makes it successful has enabled me to better understand how to achieve a satisfactory result.

Bibliography


Adit, A. (2012). 35 Best Examples of Black and White Photography For Inspiration - See more at: http://www.designdune.com/inspiration/best-black-and-white-photography/#sthash.ce9hTsP8.dpuf. Available: http://www.designdune.com/inspiration/best-black-and-white-photography/. Last accessed 18th Mar 2014. 

Can’t See the Forest for the Trees? Accounting for the Urban Forest. Available: http://streets.mn/2014/02/21/cant-see-the-forest-for-the-trees-accounting-for-the-urban-forest/#lightbox/1/. Last accessed 18th Mar 2014.


Cartwright, R. (2012). Rob Cartwright Photography | 2011/12 Photoaday Challenge. Available: http://robcartwrightphotography.wordpress.com/page/23/. Last accessed 18th Mar 2014.
Geer, S. (2014).

Level 2 Introduction to Digital Imaging Portfolio - Street Photography with Video

Street Photography Assignment

The Brief:

• To produce a series of images fitting the theme of Street Photography, clearly showing the subject matter and not simply 'grab' or 'random' shots. Think about interacting with the subject and how best to approach people.
• Use my phone or recording device, base myself in a convenient area for minimum of 30 minutes to jot down observation, decide on a theme and record ambient sounds.
• Use my phone camera instead of my DSLR to take photographs with a view to assembling a slide show which incorporates the ambient sound recorded.

I have decided to split my assignment into two slide shows although only asked for one.  I felt that adding sounds into the background of the slide show mattered to be 'in tune' with the photos being viewed and unfortunately I do not yet have to skills to create and edit my own soundtrack.

Inspiration:
For inspiration on street photography I have again looked to Meyerowitz and having watched a DVD, The Genius of Photography (2005) where Meyerowitz is on the street in America and very much in people's faces, I was certain I wouldn't be able to adopt his approach. As I expected, when it came to practising street photography, I took a much subtler stance although I do wish I could be a little more like Meyerowitz. Meyerowitz's images have continued to develop throughout the many years of his career, this is illustrated on his own website, which, also contains an honest interview about his early years.

 Images portraying Meyerowitz's approach on the street

Meyerowitz, Retrospective, date unknown

Equipment I used:
Samsung S3 Phone with integrated camera
Nikon D7000
16-85mm zoom lens
Olympus Dictaphone to record sound

Safety Considerations:

I didn't use a tripod on this occasion as Manchester City Centre is very busy and I felt it would have been a health and safety issue. As I was in a group so consequently, I didn't need to take a companion with me as a safety precaution and I kept my equipment to a minimum so as to prevent injury to myself.  As this was an outdoor shoot, the weather was also a health and safety consideration, consequently I dressed and chose appropriate footwear for the occasion. I was also mindful of the traffic, particularly the trams, allowed into pedestrian areas and took care not to stand in a dangerous position when taking photographs. An awareness of peoples feelings towards having their photograph taken is also necessary in order to avoid hostile situations.

The Shoot:
After meeting up with my college group in Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester it took a little while to become comfortable with the idea of actually approaching people for their permission to photograph them.  It is quite easy to capture people from a distance, especially when they are unaware of your presence due to them being involved with their own activity or thoughts.  Intentionally interacting with people I wished to photograph actually turned out to be a much more pleasurable and rewarding experience than I had anticipated.  Many people smiled and were happy to stop or sit and let me photograph them, even when, in some of my images they look like they are unaware of me.  The people who say no or wave their hand in a negative gesture are the minority and once this happened it became easier to address my fears of rejection in this respect.

The Koffee Pot:
A cafe called 'The Koffee Pot', was chosen as a base to decide a theme, record ambient sound, make notes and take photographs with my 'phone camera'.  I simply chose to portray the people who use the cafe and the images reflect some people whom I didn't approach and interact with and some people that I did interact with.  After viewing and analysing my results, I have concluded that unless people are looking or smiling directly at you, it is difficult to tell which people I did or did not interact with.  I also aimed to portray in the slide show, the very different people that do frequent the cafe.

Piccadilly Gardens:
On my way back to get the train home from Piccadilly Station, I also chose to take photographs on the street in the area of Piccadilly Gardens. I found it easier to approach people in this area on my own, perhaps due to me being a woman and people were not intimidated by me. All of my images reflect people that I did interact with.

The Slide Shows:
I presented the images in an sequence that I felt 'flowed' and added the appropriate ambient sound from my recordings, using PowerPoint. The slide show was then saved as both a presentation and a MP4 file, the MP4 file facilitated uploading a video to the video sharing site 'Vimeo'.  I strongly feel that adding the appropriate ambient sound to my slide show of images made a substantial difference to the final presentation.

This following link is my slide show without sound:

Street Photography (Cafe) 

This following video is my slide show with sound:

This next video is my slide show of street photography in Piccadilly Gardens and once again the ambient sound was recorded in the immediate area and forms the background sound to my slide show.  I stayed with the theme of people that frequent the area and discovered that most people there were more than happy to be photographed.

My Evaluation
On this occasion, as per the brief, we were encouraged to interact with the people we wanted to photograph.  I found this daunting at first but did find myself relaxing and gradually becoming more natural with the process. The 'close-up' approach that I witnessed 'Meyerowitz' using in his DVD, really wasn't for me but I do admire how he manages to do work in the manner he does and produce great results. I did strive to create some spontaneous looking images, the way Meyerowitz has mastered but I think this takes time and practice.
I still used my camera in manual as this is my preferred choice of mode, however I do plan to attempt using Aperture Priority in the near future.  Using my phone camera was a discreet way of taking photographs but I was not overly happy with the quality of the results produced from it. I believe using a smaller and more discreet camera would probably be a better choice where discretion is an issue.  I felt the results from my Nikon DSLR were satisfactory but as I have already mentioned, I think this could be improved by trying different camera modes in the future.
On reflection, I do feel this is an effective way to present my work and the ambient sounds and music add a great deal of mood and atmosphere to the overall finished presentation. I was happy with my results with the presentations although, the next time I put together a slide show, I will add a blank slide at the end to finish the slide show in a smoother manner.

Bibliography

Howard Greenberg. (2014). Joel Meyerowitz b.1938. Available: http://www.howardgreenberg.com/#artists/abc/197. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.

Meyerowitz, J. (2003). Joel Meyerowitz: Photographer. Available: http://www.joelmeyerowitz.com/index.html. Last accessed 25th Oct 2013.

The Genius of Photography (2005) Produced by BBC4