~Statement of intent~
I am aiming to produce a website of my work demonstrating my work and ideas. My page will be able to track my progress and development of my current theme 'Objects'. At the bottom of each gallery I will choose my best and worst image, at the end of my project I will also create a gallery of my best images. For my initial research I will start by looking into 'object' photographers, the three I am thinking of researching are Edward Weston, Camilla Catrambone and also Rui Jarimba. I'm going to look at these photographers because I think that their work will link with the work I am hoping to produce, I believe I can get a lot of inspiration from these photographers because they all focus on objects but present them different as Edward Weston photographs images close up, focusing on texture. And Camilla Catrambone focusing on a range of different objects composed within an image.
When I first chose this theme my initial thoughts were what images I could photograph, I first thought about photographing single objects like shoes in a studio shoot, I then also thought about taking photos of groups of objects. The photoshoots I intent to complete are studio shots, of groups of meaningful objects, also just single objects. The equipment I am going to use is a tripod to have focused images, I also intend to experiment with different backdrops, using the floor, tables as a background, I will use a birds eye view for my first set of image of grouped objects. I want to use a 50mm lens for my single object images, this will allow me to zoom in on texture and shapes. I'm going to use my phone camera too so I can experiment with different techniques and locations, taking photos with my phone camera will show a range of different outcomes. The objects I want to capture are close up objects such as work equipment, close up singular objects, grouped objects and grouped meaningful objects. I want to edit them in photoshop to look more advanced, I will do this by enhancing the colour saturation.
I have three months to produce my website with my final work, I am going to show on my website my experiments with my photos in photoshop and on my shoots in order to produce a final set of images focused on objects. I am going to annotate my website to show my ideas and my journey through progressing in this project. My website is going to be organized so it will show the progression of my work, and the improvements I have made along my project. Towards the end of my project, I will write up an evaluation to sum up all of my work this project. Also when I am picking my best and worst images I will also be writing why my opinion of which image could have been improved and which image was my best is important, it is important for me to understand why the mistakes were made and how I was going to improve them mistakes. Although I will not be doing this with all my images I will pick a selective amount of images that show a major difference in my best image I have chosen and the worst image I have chosen. I will not be doing this for every set of images I take as I feel as though it is not important for me to track my progress as some of the images I take will look very similar.
~Research~
~Edward Weston~
~Context~
Whilst Researching Edward Weston I have found this information on the internet.
"Edward Henry Weston was born March 24, 1886, in Highland Park, Illinois. He spent the majority of his childhood in Chicago where he attended Oakland Grammar School. He began photographing at the age of sixteen after receiving a Bull’s Eye #2 camera from his father. Weston’s first photographs captured the parks of Chicago and his aunt’s farm. In 1906, following the publication of his first photograph in Camera and Darkroom, Weston moved to California. After working briefly as a surveyor for San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad, he began working as an itinerant photographer. He peddled his wares door to door photographing children, pets and funerals. Weston became successful working in soft-focus, pictorial style; winning many salons and professional awards. Weston gained an international reputation for his high key portraits and modern dance studies. Articles about his work were published in magazines such as American Photography, Photo Era and Photo Miniature."
https://www.edward-weston.com/edwardweston
~Composition~
In this photo of half an onion by Edward Weston, there are very strong leading lines created by the layers of the onion skin. The circular lines draw your attention into the middle and there is a contrasting diagonal line that cuts across the image. The leading lines are very black and stand out against the white skin which creates a contrast. I can also see he has used the rule of thirds, as the leading lines starts at the bottom left hand corner it creates a sweet spot.
I can see that the photographer has very tightly cropped the image, this makes the middle of the image eye grabbing and pulls you into the image. As it is so tightly cropped it allows you to see every detail and texture and makes this object seem very important. In my opinion I think this may be a studio shot with the camera on a tripod with possibly a zoom lens. In this image there is no depth of field, it is very shallow and so I think the F-stop is around F14 and the ISO set to 100. I think the photographer has used studio lighting, the light looks as if it is directly in front of the object and the impact of this is that it creates a strong contrast in the object. The photograph is in black and white, this makes the texture of the object stand out also bringing out the pattern, shape and form of the object. This is a technique I really like and will think about when doing my own work.
~Comment~
I really like Weston's work because just like this image he takes simple objects and makes them seem like something more interesting than they actually are. The basic objects he photographs turn into something much more beautiful than what they originally are. The image makes you look at all the detail, patterns and texture, whilst looking at the image you forget that it is just a simple everyday object. When looking at this image for the first time you dont actually notice that is an onion until looking at it in further detail, this makes his work quite magical.
~Connection~
I am researching Edward Weston because I think his work links to my project focusing objects.
~Camilla Catrambone~
~Context~
I have been researching Camilla Catrambone and this is the information I have found from the internet.
"Some people scrapbook, some people create encyclopedic volumes, but Camilla Catrambone offers a more effusive way of documenting her family, through this series of still life photographs. Each ‘portrait’ represents a family member through the articles they have owned, or items Catrambone associates with them most. A really cool project, and a worthwhile endeavor to recreate for anyone’s family!"
https://trendland.com/camilla-catrambone-portraits-of-my-family/
~Composition~
I think the objects in this image are laid out this way purposefully, for example the briefcase, the pocket watch, the glasses, the phone and the scrunched up piece of paper are all lined up, this creates leading lines that guide your eyes across the page. The focal point in this image is the telephone because the center of the object is in the middle of the page making it attention grabbing. The colours used on this image are all beige, and earthy colours, apart from the orange ticket in the top left corner, this is used to make the ticket also stand out. The image seems like a studio shoot, however the light seems as though it could be natural light, however due to it being a studio shoot the light is probably coming from a studio light, propped on a stand shining face down. The camera used for this shoot seems like it was a manual camera, shot from a birds eye view, shooting the image from a birds eye view is a very important technique. The technique from of the birds eye view is important due as the photographer has intended to get every object in the image, as well a lined up too, if this was shot from another angle, like a close up this would change the outcome of the photograph to a very high extent. The photographer has also cropped the bag out of the left hand side, this could have been done so the bag wasn't taking up a lot of the space of the image which the photographer wouldn't have wanted as she has laid the images out like this so there isn't a massive focus on one item. There is a focus point on the telephone in the middle, but due to this being a warm colour and not so large object it doesn't take the interest off of the rest of the photograph.
~Connection~
I believe this research will help me with my own photographs, I am aiming to take photographs just like Camilla's therefore I have chosen her work to inspire my own. As I am doing black and white images I have also chose her work as it has colour in, this will make my work stand out as I will have a variety of different themes and objects. I like how her images are taken from a birds eye view, I will also be using this technique in my work. The image looks as if though it has been taken inside, making a studio shot but I think it could have been shot using natural lighting, perhaps the objects were placed in front of a window.
~Comment~
I really like how the photographers images tell a story, you can clearly tell by the objects she has grouped together that the objects she has chosen has significant meaning to her, they are all in the same category as if they have belonged to somebody, I like how this is clear to the person viewing the image. This has inspired me to gather objects that have meaning rather than just having random objects.
~Rui Jarimba~
~Context~
I couldn't find much about this photographer on the webpage, I did however find out that photography is a new passion of theirs.
~Composition~
This photograph captured by Rui is at eye level of the camera this allows the focal point of the image to be the sewing string, this is important as without a focal point the image would be bland and not attention grabbing. I can clearly see that this has been shot in a studio making it a studio shot, this is clear due to the lighting, the light is a studio light rather than natural lighting from the sun. It also looks like the photographer has placed a backdrop underneath the objects, the dark background contrasts with the bright, vibrant objects placed on top, having a dark choice of backdrop really develops the image as it brings out the true tones of the sewing equipment. The patterns and shapes in this image have been placed perfectly, you can see that the image has a pattern of circles, having the objects laid out how it is makes the image unique. The image looks like it could have been edited on photoshop, I think the photographer may have used a vintage technique as the corners of the image seem to be a little darker than the rest of the background. They may have also enhanced the saturation of the thread to make it contrast with the background even further. The photographer has also used the rule of thirds in their image, a shown the blue thread is the main focal point of the image, following with the yellow, then the red seems to be further into the back, blurred into the backdrop. The image may have been cropped to remove the outer parts but nothing other than that has been cropped.
~Connections~
This photographers image I have chosen links in with my single object photography that I have not yet experimented with, however this image will help me when doing my first shoot on singular objects. I really like the way that the objects have been placed, they're all stood at different angles which gives the photo more of an interesting look.
~Comment~
I really like this photo that Rui Jarimba has captured, I like how they have took ordinary objects and photographed them to make them look quite spectacular. I especially like this object they have chosen as it will also link into other pieces of work I am hoping to complete.
~Mood Board~
~Coggle~
~First Shoot~
This was my first shoot, I had chosen to shoot a pair of trainers trying to make them look as unique and professional as possible. AS this was my first shoot I hadn't really thought about how to make the images more interesting, for example the rest of my images have a story behind them, however I believe this was a good beginning for me, this is because I was able to think deeper about the story my page would actually tell and not just photograph random images.
~Best and Worst~
In my opinion this is my best image as there is no background showing, also no distracting colours. As there are no distracting aspects of the image you can clearly see the leading lines of the crossed fabric. This makes the objects focal point also the crossed fabric, meaning I have purposely angled the shoe this way to make the image have an outstanding view. |
This is my worst image in my opinion as the left side of the image the colour is really bleached out as the white balance is high, also the depth of field is also high which is why you can see the background underneath the object. |