variation shots

On this occasion I experimented with changing the density of the photo filter

This edit is a variation of the black and white filters where the face inside the television is in colour yet the outside is black and white. This variation implements the idea that life through a television screen is better than outside. However the mute sign has no value on this edition.

On this variation i reversed the pattern i tried in the previous photo. This variation shows that life inside the tv is different to the outside and is duller than we originally thought. The mute sign has value on this 

This is the final variation that i will probably take forward as my final project

Camera Techniques

Effects of shutter speed

 2.5 secs

1/1000

1 hour

The following pictures demonstrate the effects of varying with a high or low shutter speed. This technique is something that I have experimented with in the past as I used a slow shutter speed when capturing the sunset at 4pm, to create a dark and mischevious image but capturing rays of bright colour. However for my ideas on this particular module I may opt to go against experimenting with this technique however I may use it in my test shots.

Research photographers

KOEN WESSING

Koen Wessing was a Dutch photojournalist best known for his work photographing Chile’s 1973 mititary coup.  Wessing was first attracted to photography after reading Weegee’s Naked City. He started as freelance photographer in 1963. In the 60′s he served a stint as a printer for Magnum. He first won recognition for his own pictures of the May protests in Paris in 1968 and the occupation of the Maagdenhuis of the University in Amsterdam in 1969. His images of the 1973 coup in Chile against the progressive government of Salvador Allende, taken with a Leica M4, made him an internationally renowned photographer.

Roland Barthe, in his seminal work Camera Lucida, discusses at length one of Wessing’s 1979 photos from Nicaragua that depicts two nuns walking past armed soldiers. The juxtaposition — or duality, as Barthes calls it — is noteworthy to Barthes; it is this duality that creates the picture’s punctum, the thing that makes the viewer pause and look again.

Koen Wessing passed away in Amsterdam on February 2, 2011. He was in the process of hanging prints for an upcoming retrospective of his work in Santiago.

Wanda Wulz

Italian photographer, from a family of portrait photographers in Trieste; her grandfather Giuseppe had founded the Studio Fotografico Wulz in 1868. Taught by her father Carlo, she photographed Trieste's cultural notables. In 1931 she met Filippo Marinetti and subsequently joined the futurist movement participating in their exhibitions. Her experiments with photodynamism employed superimposition and rhythmic scansion to create studies of bodies in motion, multiple portraits, and Futurist still lifes. Wulz's self-portrait Io+gatto (I+cat; 1932) is one of the best-known Futurist photographic images. But by the late 1930s she was focusing again on commercial work

The following is one of Wul'z most famous piece of artwork and is linked to duality, which of course is related to our brief. This particular image has been edited well and merged to different faces into one: a cat and a human leading to the artwork being called I + Cat. Personally I find this work inspiring yet mischievous as i struggle to find a deeper meaning to this piece apart from the fact of a person being close to their pet.

ideas

IDEA 1 - DUALITY - DAY AND NIGHT 

Idea one was basically a vision i had as soon as i received the brief. I feel it is mainly linked to my personal sociable lifestyle and I immediately thought of showing differences between daytime and nightlife in big cities. Due to the fact I live near Birmingham I felt that this could be a reasonable idea as i could venture out there for test shots and etc. However this was just one idea and my intentions were to merge to images (one of day time/non busy atmosphere/light), and the other of nightlife (busy queues to enter clubs, lot of people, cars etc) into one image. For the angle of this image my thoughts were a midshot of a club allowing people in with the road and other shops/cars in the distance behind.

IDEA 2 - DUALITY - DAY AND NIGHT 

Idea 2 was a slight transformation from idea one. Instead of having the focal angle of a nightclub I thought of the idea of looking down the street with a longshot and higher viewpoint. I felt that this could help create a different atmosphere and help demonstrate the difference in day and night a lot more when merging the image.

IDEA 3 - DUALITY - FREEDOM VS CONSTRAINT = CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

Idea 3 came from my research when looking at different dual combinations which would compliment each other nicely. I felt that constraint and freedom go well together and felt there were many different options to experiment with. My first idea for "constrained freedom"

was an idea of someone being in a glass lift quite high up. I felt that this would show freedom as it feels as if the person would have the whole word under his feet, and almost feel like his flying. However at the same time would demonstrate how sense of constraint and claustrophobia as he is metaphorically in a closed see through box. At first because i was getting carried away with the freedom vs constraint idea i felt this idea was very suitable and good. After looking into it further i realised location would be a problem and a most likely place to find a suitable lift would be a shopping centre which would lead to needing permission.

IDEA 4 - DUALITY - CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

I then began to think of places where i personally feel a sense of freedom and I thought of my phone and the amount of stuff i can do on it such as social media take pictures etc. This lead me to think about in what situations I use my phone in most and i realised it is most likely to be on public transport. Public transport can often be a very tight and constrained environment at peak times so my next idea fell into place. I began to think of situations such as tight seating on a bus, train, or even waiting rooms and thought of a photo of someone lost in a different world on their phone while other people are sitting bored and uncomfortably. However i am still unsure on location.

IDEA 5 - DUALITY - CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

This idea toys with the theory of not being able to speak up the truth and holding back in certain situations for greater good or not. The idea is still linked to constrained freedom as the photo would be a tongue with a padlock locking it not allowing it to speak out. I am unsure whether I would use the tongue for the padlock or the lips but i feel maybe the tongue would be more effective.

IDEA 6 - DUALITY - CONSTRAINED FREEDOM

Idea 6 is a variation of idea 5 with the similar theory of not being able to speak out loud. My favourite part about this idea is the title which probably could be just as effective for idea 5 also. I came up with the idea of using the phrase "you're not aloud". Aloud relating to voice and noise rather than allowed meaning action and doing. The photo is a picture of someone shouting/talking and then in the bottom corner would be a 8bit sign which used to appear on the old television sets to mute the volume. I feel the idea is basic but effective due to the meaning of in the title and also linked with constrained freedom

Research Duality Images

This particular piece of work uses the simple symmetric technique in photography to show two meanings of a dark and bright angel. The symmetrical image of the two woman also help create a heart shape which helps create a further deeper meaning within. This is something i wish to create in my piece of work because i feel it helps add a sense of endless thoughts and discussion to photography.

This image is also a symmetrical type demonstrating change in weather. It is a basic type of image representing duality however is simple and gets the message across. This also can link with some of my ideas as i have been experimenting and looking into the idea of showing duality between day and night.

I am insure about the meaning behind this picture and not quite sure how to interpret it. it seems to show a toy being bullied by a statue, with keys also being involved however this image helps open a more creative idea towards my final image. Maybe I can make something obscure leaving people not quite sure what to think.

The very famous Jeckyll and Hyde photo is one of the most influential photos in terms of duality and most recognised in the industry. It tends to be the main one that comes to mind when thinking of duality and is very easy to interpret to most viewers due to the famous narrative involved. The idea of working with a famous phrase or narrative to do with duality is something which i should also look into when brainstorming ideas.

The technique used in this image is probably my favourite as it merges the two into one. This is something that i have looked into when considering early ideas for my final image.

Task 1

For task 1 we had to create a "spoof" poster for something which irritates us. The topic I chosen was loud and noisy eaters and I made the following poster.