Research and Assesment. March, 2016. Completed August,2018.

This blog page is dedicated to the Research Points and Assessment Criteria’s throughout the whole of Photography 1: Expressing your Vision.

Research Point: Reviews of Thomas Ruff by Campany and Colberg.  March, 2016.

Read reviews by Campany and Colberg and pick out any key points made by each writer. Write a summary in 300 words.   Part One. Photography 1: Expressing your Vision.

David Campany – Key Points.

Thomas Ruff photographs makes a particular demand on his audiences. His work brings pleasure, aesthetic and intellectual thought, but I find his work cold and dispassionate and yet searching and at the same time beautiful. I find his work compressed in a jpeg’s format can come across as being ugly and compressed, yet beautiful. Ruff dramatizes his photographs for the public, and being private too, anonymous, as it is personnel. What is unquie about Ruff’s images that they have the ability to solicit a response on an individual to a global response, that cannot be reconciled.

Joel Colberg- Key points.

Ruff may be one of the most creative and inventive photographers of our time. Some think his work as photographic orthodoxy and actually deny that is his work actual photography. Ruff’s jpeg’s are his latest work and came out of history of the 9/11 -the World Trade Centre and his own words ” I took photos many and when I got back to Germany the negatives were blank, so I downloaded images from the web and experimented with jpeg” The images were terrible of a low resolution and with the jpeg structure Ruff managed to modify the images  and produced them into aesthetical images. Beautiful, but terrible images. Ruff eventually expanded the jpeg collection and a large set and two large shows at a gallery called Zwirner and that was the creation  of Jpegs.

All images show the aftermath of 9/11 and The World Trade Centre with Empire State Building and streets of New York.

 

 

 

 

You can see by looking at images two and three how low resolute the images were and are and  how the pixel’s in both the images are very much in evidence.  The quality of the other three images are not of high standard either.

 

David Campany

Joreg Colberg.

David Campany.                                           Joreg Colberg.

 

Source of information:

Conscientious Review- jpegs by Thomas Ruff. Book Reviews – Photobooks by Joreg Colberg. April, 2009.

Thomas Ruff: Aesthetic of the Pixel.  Iann Magazine NO 2, 2008.

Images taken from Thomas Ruff images- bing.com/images.

Images of David Campany and Joreg Colberg – bing.com/images.

 

Assesment criteria: Technical Skills. May,2016.

Part Two. OCA

One of the aims higher level education in the visual arts is the knowledge of the technical excellence. Knowing your way round the basics of a digital camera is the answer to mastering the art of photography.

Camera Data

Here is some of the basic photographic terms.

Aperture: The size of the hole that lets the light through the lens into the camera. The larger the aperture the more light gets through, the smaller the aperture the less light getting into camera via the lens.

F stops: The F stop, or the f- number of a lens is a focal length divided by the aperture. It indicates how much light is entering the camera and the brightness of the image on the film, or camera card.

Focal Length: Lenses are referred to as being many of x many millimetres. A 60mm lens produces an image of object in the distance on a digital card, or film that is the same size as the image that would be protected by the pinhole of 60mm from a digital card, or a film. A longer focal length will give more magnification, but less light is allowed into the camera.

All but the most expensive of digital cameras have an image acquisition areas which are smaller than area of a 35mm frame and often it can be much smaller. Consumer models focal lengths are equivalent to the larger focal lengths for a 35mm camera. The 7mm focal length of a digital camera is equivalent to the field view of a 38mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Sensitivity: Known to a film photographer as “film speed” this measures the sensitivity of the digital card, or film to the light entering the camera. The International Standards Organisation has laid down some standard measurements called the ISO numbers. Digital cameras will only have a medium sensitivity, and does give poor results in low light and film cameras will have the same problem, but to a lesser extent.

Shutter Speed:  Measures how long light is let into the camera and to form an image. The slower the shutter speed is, the more light gets into camera, but slower settings can make moving objects blurred. The digital camera does not have a physical shutter, though some digital cameras do.

ISO: One of he most useful advantages of having a digital camera have of a film camera is that of the adjustable ISO. The ISO the sensetivity of the sensor, or that of film to light. The digital camera only has one “real” ISO- ISO 100. All ISO values above this base setting are made possible by the amplfying the signal from the sensor in the camera. This will produce noise, the low-contrast, “grainy ” look that can happen and are clearly visable at a higher ISO’s One of the main acheivements and advances in digital camera technology is the the acheivement of high- quality images at a high ISOs

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Part Five. Viewpoint. July- completed August, 2018.

 

 

Project One. The distance between us.

This section will let me loose on the style of photography I like and focus on me as a photographer. We all look at a subject in a different way and have our style of photography. We all interpret the world through a lens

I don’t pretend that I can describe the “other”. The camera for me is more a meter that measures the distance between myself and the other. It’s about the encounter between myself and the other; it’s not about the other.

Alexia Clorinda in conversation with the author.  Taken from Project 1 The distance between us. OCA Part Five Viewpoint.

Alexia Clorinda is an art historian, photographer and researcher. She was brought up in Italy and now spends her time and based in London. She speaks five languages and as worked in France, Spain, Morocco, Oman, Cuba and Hatti, Senegal and Congo.

Her visions questions the historical, anthropology and the instability of identity and the ideology and the perspective of a post- colonial world and the challenges  transcends ethnicity and nationality of the subject.

The series of photographs that I chosen to upload are taken from her studies of Morocco. These images were taken after the Arab Spring. It is a look at the historical event and the mass movement of people who are and where oppressed and subaltern people.

She also points out that the most of the country’s wealth is in the hands of just 14% of the most wealthiest and Royal Family. People live on less than $2 a day, literacy rate is 34% and unemployment rising and mass migration to other countries and mainly the young. This is of course fueling  mass illegal migration to Europe. It is like a nation is on the move. Despite the problems the monarchy still has a good reputation in the west and tourism is booming.

After the King announced reforms in June, 2011 there was chances of a referendum and popular points to reform where: gender equality, more civil rights, more recognition of Berber as an official language alongside Arabic and overhaul of the judicial system. The rest is history and period of history that unfolded on the news every night.

Alexia Clorinda images are of a country still steeped in history from French Colonial Rule and sixty-two years of independence and wanting a change, equality and better standard of living and change in wealth distribution. The images below are personnel and independent view of a country wanting change and shows the inequality and hardship forcing so many of the country’s young to leave for a better future.

 

Conclusion

My viewpoint.

These images are a viewpoint of a country wanting to leave its colonial past, the inequality and a better future for all. I found these images provocative, sensitive and respectful towards the people in the photographs. These images show a period of history of a country wanting change.

Source of information: Morocco from below. Alexia Clorinda Photography and multimedia.

The Civil Imagination  (2012).

Areilia Azoulay sees photography as an event and ones encounter with photography also an event too. By looking at a photograph can be as imaginative, as taking the photograph.

Human subjects occupying different roles in the event of photography, do play one or another part in it, but the encounter between them is never entirely in the sole control of any of them: no one is the sole signatory to the event of photography.

Azoulay, 2012.

Taken from OCA Part Five Viewpoint.

Ariella has a degree from Universite of Paris and Tel Aviv University. She was  born in Tel Aviv in 1962 and is an author, curator and filmmaker and theorist  photographer and visual culture.

Ariella has produced many works and that includes writing and filmmaking and the most notably The Civil Imagination (2012).

The Civil Imagination: A political Ontology of Photography. Ariella stresses and makes the point that her view of photography is understanding photography is more than a matter of assessing photographs. The photograph is merely one event in a sequence of events that constitutes photography and always involves a potential, or actual spectator in that relationship between the photographer and the individual in the photograph. The book itself show how an  image can be responsible for reinforcing and resist the oppressive reality foisted of the people depicted in the photograph. Through the media of photography. The Civil Imagination seeks out the relations of solidarity, partnership and the friendships and sharing that come into being at the expense of sovereign powers that threaten to destroy them.  Ariella argues that civil must be separated from the “political ” and the interest of the citizens themselves and that they have in themselves , in others and in their shared forms of coexistence, as well as in the world they create and transform. The book sketches out the new horizons of the civil living for the citizens, as well as the citizens denied citizenship.

My viewpoint

Looking at the above paragraph the author argues that a photograph can tell a story, or record an event, but unwittingly acts as a tool for the oppressor when all the photographer wants to do is to show the outside world what is actually happening and make aware the injustice of a ruling power, or government. It also shows the comradeship and force behind the oppressed and must be separated from the political angle and show the struggle people go through for justice, equality and peace. Also from another angle a photograph can also come at the expense of the oppressor too and show the world what is actually happening and the injustice being carried out.

I have never read her book and will make a point of reading it. It makes one think that everyday we see images, reports and films of those suffering in the world through a lens of a camera and do we ever ask ourselves, is that image showing their suffering, protest, or story, or is acting as a tool for the perpetrator. or oppressor. Is it doing what is should be doing and showing the world the wrongs of human nature. Worth a thought.

Source of information: is from online and image of book and notes are taken from amazon.co.uk

Images below are images relating to the book and other images showing repression.

 

Images taken from online: bing.com/images

Exercise 5.1

Use your camera  as a measuring device. This doesn’t refer to the distance scale on the focus ring. Find a subject that you have empathy with and take a sequence of shots to explore the distance between you.

Now I will admit I was confused at first and had to reread the exercise brief a few times and think what do I actually have empathy with. Now empathy as word means the ability to understand the ability to share the feelings of others. Also empathy means compassion, pity, sympathy, concern, consideration and kindness and sensitivity. Now what do I have empathy with? Natural world?

I am a keen on the natural world and do have empathy with the struggle that an animal, insect, or even a plant go through everyday to survive.

I have taken many an image of the above and that is my subject, so the series images below are my subject for this exercise.

 

Image 3 is my selection.

Now thinking back to exercise 1.4.  When you take a photograph you take what you see and want to keep as a memory and because the subject is attractive to the eye too..

I took the above image while pottering around my garden and was not consciously thinking of taking a photograph. I then noticed this little Robin following me around the garden, as he/she always does. This little Robin is a frequent visitor, as I recognize he/ she’s markings. I am always aware that this little Robin is looking for that tasty worm and is matter of survival for this little bird. That is where the empathy for my subject comes in.

When you take a photograph you never think about how your going to present he photograph and the technical details, or will this fit within some frame. I take a photograph, as you want to keep, or capture the movement. I have to say I do not have any criticism of these images, or the image I selected as my as my best shot. I like the way the colouring in the background helps to enhance the red breast of the Robin. There is nothing that sounds out in to image, that did not mean to do, or take. I really cannot see any mistakes and the only thing I should have done was to include whole torso of the Robin. There is nothing I am aware of unaware of that I can see in the image that I am conscious, or unconscious of.  To me it represents a photograph of a little Robin that happens to follow me around the garden and my love of the natural world.

 

Quentin Bajac

Born in Paris Quentin Bajac become chief curator of The Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Being given such authority in this position, MoMA invested a large amount of intellectual currency  in the appointment. Bajac had also been curator at the Centre Pompidou in Paris from 2003. Before that for eight years he was curator of photography at the Musee de’ Orsay.

This is his view photography:

“The most interesting photographers in that field are those who manage to find a proper balance between perception and the idea . I was talking about this with Paul Grahame a few weeks ago, who said that you can set out with the best possible idea, open your door, go outside, and the world changes that idea. And  you have to accept that and shift your expectation to accommodate what you observe and evolve with it. What you produce in the end will probably be quite different from the initial idea. This is what photography is about, it is about having an idea at first and accepting that you’re going to be seduced, in the etymological sense of the word, by the world you’re encountering.”

The following section is part of a conversation Quentin Bajac had with Philip Gefter.

PG: Do you think the history of photography as it  was written in the twenty century was American-centric, or even New York centric?. And, if so has that changed?

QB: Yes it’s true, and it has changed a lot. I would say that from the 1930 on Americans tended to think of photography as an American medium. A bit like Jazz – that was an American art. And yet it’s also true  that if you look at the history of photography at MoMA Steichen was open to Europeans photographers, and Beaumont Newell spent, a lot of tine in Europe. John Szarkowski  was, of course, a wonderful curator and one to whom I think  every historian is indebted. But is was, as you know, very American – focused. If you look at the exhibitions he organized during his thirty – year tenure at the museum you have a repetition among historical figures that sometimes included non-American photographers Brassai, Cartier- Bresson, Lartigue, Atget. He exhibited Japanese photographers. But you probably count them on the fingers of one hand. As soon as you turn to contemporary photography, that is, photographers of his generations at the time, they are all American.

Extract from the View from a Judgement Seat – Quentin Bajac in conversation with Philip Gefter.

Taken from online: Aperture Magazine.

My viewpoint and my interpretation of parts of  the interview:

I have read the entire interview and extracted a section above.  From what I have interpreted by reading the interview Philip Gefter covers the general niceties of an interview by asking him about the position he holds as curator, and his background, and hobbies, and his interests, and views on photography. There is one section though of the interview which I  have included above asking Bajac views on twenty century photography and history and it’s place in society and where Gefter asked Bajac, that from the 1930s America tended to look upon photography, as an American medium and written as an American-centric creation. Bajac answers yes and now that is changing , even though MoMA did feature European and Japanese photographers, but  contemporary photography was an all  American affair.

He also quoted ( Bajac) that the reason he thinks he required the position at the MoMA was that being a non-American, that the world was changing and photography was becoming global and recognising photography and photographers were international and not just American.

Another interested section from the interview where was photography is now? Bajac went on to say after a forty-year uphill battle photography is beginning to be recognized as a viable art form and can stand alongside other disciplines.

Gefter then went onto ask Bajac whether  the criteria for assessing a work of arts was it  still in a documentary form or a constructed image, in a world of internet and social platforms. Has the criteria changed? The answer Bajac gives is that practices have changed, as  there is an overflow of images on hand today and in the 60s, 70s and early 1980s they were trying to provide access to photographic images and where as today there many areas of access to many more images. So we have to be more selective. This is true and looking online there are websites and pages full images of all kinds and  the internet seem to be overloaded with images.

The rest of the interview was how Bajac would like to publish more books of the collections and put as many images online and eventually the whole collection online and bring the photography collection into more integration and dialogue with other departments, and more global too.

Source of information:

Quentin Bajac in conversation with Philip Gefter – View from a Judgement Seat.

Winter 2013 issue of Aperture Magazine.

Online: http://www.aperture.org/blogview-judgement-seat- quentin-bajac-conversation-Philip-gefter/

 

Exercise 5.2

Select a photographer of my choice and take one of my photographs and analysis. My chosen photographer is Tony Howell and who is a well-known professional photographer and specializes in the British Countryside from landscapes, architecture,  wildlife and flora and fauna and Animals.  He sells his photographs all over the world and celebrates the British countryside and Britain itself.

Tony has over 40 years of photography experience and lives in Somerset. He has also written many books on the subject of photography and has been featured in calendars, book , magazines Hollywood Movie, billboards, cards, prints, websites and even on a side of a van and you name it he has been featured on it.

His clients include: National Geographic, BBC, Christie’s, The Tate, Royal Mail, The National Trust and Penguin Books, UNICEF and The Forestery Comission and many more. Tony Howell is also represented in various photographic libraries Getty Images, Flower Photos and The National Trust Photo Library and works in various galleries.

I have several prints of Tony Howell’s myself.

Image 1: Tony Howells

Image 2: My image.

Both images were taken at Micheldever Woods in Hampshire. I live in Hampshire and these woodlands are not far from where I live.

I have decided to look at the whole image and not just part of it. Both images were taken in the same woodland and featuring a single branch , which seems to float above bluebells, but taken at very two different angles and viewpoints.

How would I compare my image stylistic wise. I wouldn’t say it was like Gary Steele Perkins juxtaposition collection of images, the bluebells and trees are part of the same scene and haven’t been placed together for any form of comparison or contrast. But you could also say the trees and bluebells are placed very close together. So there is a sense of juxtaposition in both of the images. I would say in both of the images and especially mine  they are probably more aligned to John Davis viewpoint.  We are looking into the image from a viewpoint and observing from a distance.

Looking at the image from its location and even the subject itself and also taking into account the “decisive moment” when I took my image and arrived at that spot to be greeted by what we see in the image is very aligned to John Davies’s viewpoint images looking and observing a subject.  I would not say it was a planned idea to take this view, but a chance of being at a certain location and seeing this beautiful scene stretched out in front of me.

Reflecting, Wondering and Responding three types of information discussed by Terry Barrett in one of his books.

The image was taken from online on the Amazon website.

Which of the following three terms above best describe the image I  have chosen to respond to. This is hard call and I have had to think how long and hard how I could respond to the question and how I go about answering the question.

The image was taken by Tony Howell who is a professional landscape and concentrates on the uniqueness of the UK. There has been many a photograph taken of a Bluebell Wood by many photographers and that including myself.  But each person have  their own original take and individual view and technique when taking a photograph. No one image is the same. I have to say I have never read any of Terry Barrett books, or knew much about him. I have now briefly read his Principles of Intercepting Art. I  will try to  put that into practice.

How can I reflect on why I chose this image, was it its beauty, serenity, or the vibrancy of the colours and the sunlight and pale colours of spring. I know this woodland well, as I live not far from this site and have taken photographs myself of this very woodland (see above). On reflection I like the way the photographer has interpreted the beauty of a bluebell wood and the essence of spring and renewal.

I am though curious why Tony Howell took this photograph and why did he take the view of the bluebell wood from this angle. I wonder what though his mind when he saw this site and like many a photographer a sight of a bluebell wood is a sign of beauty and they know an image like this is desirable if they are in the business of selling.. I always stand in wonder when I look at a bluebell wood and take in the colour, scent and sheer beauty of the tiny little flowers packed together like a “carpet of blue”

When a photographer take a photograph they are all subconsciously taking the image to impress, or have some reaction. People react to colour, or something that pleases the eye and landscapes and flowers are always popular. My reaction to this photograph was I now this woodland and have taken the same view, well I have taken this view from a different angle. I am very keen on Landscape Photography and take a lot of Landscape images myself. When ever I see a bluebell wood my reaction is always positive and I just love the whole beauty and scent of this truly unquie British Landscape.

All information and images were taken from Tony Howells online website.

Homage

An image, or photograph that inspires another to take the same photograph is called “Homage”

“Picasso has famously quoted that “good artist borrow,great artist steal”.

Homage is not the same as Picasso’s quote. Homage is to be found in a photograph, or even in a painting.  When a painter sees a painting, or a photographer see an image, or something in the painting/ photographer that takes their eye and or strikes a chord that impresses them they are compelled to recreate that painting/photograph in their own take and style.  Homage to someones work can also show great empathy, or a bond and even kinship with the original work.

” The hackneyed idea of “influence” is not an issue here. I am not interested in the question of what one artist may or may not have taken from another. I am referring to the universally familiar phenomenon of looking at one image and having another image spontaneously come to mind”

An Example is Victor Burgin’s series  The Office at Night (1986), based on Edward Hopper’s painting of the same name.

Edward Hopper (1940).

 

Victors Burgin’s series of photographs under the title of “Office at Night” (1986) was to play homage to Edward Hopper’s images in 1940.

Take a closer look at Edward Hooper’s image above and you will see it goes beyond its simplicity, you can see the stereotype and ideology of the day, the man was the boss and the women was the secretary.  A concept that still exists today, but not as common today, as it was back in 1940 and even in 1986 when Victor Burgin made his comment ( see below).

Victor Burgin remarks regarding the images:

” Office at Night may read as an expression of the general political problem of the organisation of Desire within the law, and in terms of a particular problem of the organization of sexuality within capitalism – the organization of sexuality for capitalism. Patriarch has traditionally consigned women to supportive roles in the running of the economy, subject to the authority of men “. ( Victor Burgin)

My Viewpoint:

By looking at the image myself  I can see what Victor Burgin is saying, is that the man is sitting at the desk and he is the boss, while the women is standing at the filing cabinet and is his  assistant and taking on a secondary role. All this looks outdated to a modern eye, but it still exists in some parts of the world. When Edward Hopper created the images it was the normal everyday practice and even to some lesser extent in 1986 when Victor Burgin made his comment.

In the modern world of computers, mobile phones and technology on the whole do we really need secretaries now?  Is there a need for a boss and his secretary. There are still people in charge, but people work as a team now and some would say there are no bosses.

Now we can see in the images that Victor Burgin took in homage to Edward Hopper’s image we see some changes.

Image 1

A woman has taken on the role as the boss and sitting at a desk in juxtaposition with Hooper’s same section of the painting with a man sitting at the desk. As you can now see a woman has taken his place. This image challenges the old ideology that the man is the boss and the roles that the man and women play in Hopper’s image.

My viewpoint:

This I believe is a conscious effort by Burgin and yet peculiar to show the contrast between two different eras by placing a women in the position of the boss up against the image of the male boss. It is a marking of “then and now” response on how things have changed and how the distinctive roles between the two genders no longer applies in todays work  and business environments in 1986 and more so in the 21st century.

Image 2:

In this image we can still see a woman standing next to the filling cabinet and juxapostioned against  the image of the  woman from Hopper’s 1940 image. In this image the woman is dressed in a more casual attire compared to the other women who is dressed in a tight-fitting and more sensual attire. By dressing the woman in a more causal attire Burgin  has taken away the symbol, or stereotype of a secretary who is depicted as being sexy and somewhat a mischievous in the way she dresses.

My viewpoint:

I think Burgin has purposely changed the appearance of the characters in the Hopper’s image, and trying to bring the image up to date and t still trying to play homage to Hopper’s image, but taking away the stereotypes and attitudes of the 1940s and bringing his images into the modern-day, well the world of 1986.

Gone has the sensual and sexy image and to the more casual attire of a woman who is now the boss. Gone has the male boss and now enter the new modern working environment, which was still in process in 1986, compared to the working environment we see in 2018.  By today standards though both women are still dressed in a skirt, or dress where as today women are seen to be wearing dresses, skirts and trousers too.

One other thing I have noticed that in Bergin’s images not a man in sight and was this Hopper’s way of acknowledging  the equality of women in the workplace?

I will look at this section more in detail in further Research on Part Five.

Source of information:

Online:  Ludovic Marquez. EYV.

Open College of the Arts. SN5 15024.

 

My own Homage.

This section is my homage to a particular photographer. I love landscape, natural world and architecture too. The photographer is Tony Howell. I used one of his photographs in exercise 5.2. I have liked his images for years now and he has taken many photographs in the same locations that I have, as I live in Hampshire and he lives in Somerset. I have been to many of the same destinations, as you will see in some of the images below. The next few images are my homage to Tony Howell’s photography.

 

Tony Howells image Micheldever Woods, Hampshire.

The two images above are mine and Tony Howells. Both are set in a beautiful Bluebell Wood in Hampshire. This woodland is very popular with Landscape photographers from all over. The woodland is the same in both images, but taken from different angles within the woodland. My image was taken in the hours after lunch and by looking at Howells image it was probably during the morning.

My image Broadway Tower, Worcestershire.

Tony Howell image Broadway Tower, Worcestershire.

The setting for the two images above is a Folly called Broadway Tower in the Cotswolds. I have been here many a time. My image was taken just before lunch on a late spring day. The light was perfect. By looking at Tony Howells image it looks as if it was taken either on an early/late summers day.

My image Durdle Door, Dorset. The view is different to Tony Howells, but still a view of Durdle Door looking towards the structure.

Tony Howells image Durdle Door, Dorset.

Yet again both the images are taken at the same location. My image was taken again in late spring and early afternoon. Tony Howells image looks as if it was taken at sunset. I am looking down from the cliff and Howells image from the beach.

My image looking towards the beach and a glimpse of Durdle Door. I am standing on the beach.

 

Tony Howells image looking towards the beach and Durdle Door. Tony is looking down onto the beach.

We again see the same image of Durdle Door, but this time mine was taken in the summer and standing on the beach, The time of day is in the afternoon. Howells image looks as if it was taken at sunset, but not sure what time of the year.

My image Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol.

Tony Howells image Clifton Suspention Bridge, Bristol.

This time the images are of the Clifton Suspention Bridge. I took my photograph in the summer and in the afternoon. I was standing on the Clifton side of the bridge when I took my photograph. I suspect Howell took his photograph from the other side of the bridge at sunset.

Source of information:

Images taken from my own collection and Tony Howells images taken from online from Tony Howells website.

 

Project Two. Photography as Information. July- August, 2018.

Photographers… are a pursuit of possibilities that are still unexplained in the camera’s programme, in the pursuit of information, improbable images that have not been seen before.

( Flusser, 2000, p37).    Taken from OCA Project Two Photography as information.

The above quotation refers to the art form of photography as source of “information” which is important in our world of online news and mainstream media. The camera catches the light that enters in through the lens. Then collected, stored and then transmitted to when it is needed to communicate a subject, or information.

When a photograph is well- exposed  it contains more information and of a better quality too, than that of an under-exposed photograph. But what kind of information is to be found in a photograph on the front cover of book by Rinko Kawauchi – luminance, which was shortlisted for the Deutsche Borse Prize.

My viewpoint

I personally think an over-exposed, or under- exposed image can have individual benefits. Personally I always strive for the perfect image and in my time I have produced many of the above. Of course well-exposed images will portray what was behind the reason for taking the photograph in the first place. Yet I have taken many an under, or over exposed image and have been pleased.

Studying Rinko Kawauchi image above and being honest I not keen on the image myself. I like the background colour, but image itself is just an outline of a rose, or flower. To me this is a blurred image with no appeal. I know it an image showing an image that has been illuminated, thus the title of her book. It may appeal to others, but does not appeal to me.

Rinko Kawauchi’s image taken from his book luminance.

Taken from online from the  Amazon  website.

It was close to melting point,and one could see the lake if one passed through.

Silence had spread out there; no waves; no sound.

I thought I might fall in by accident if I stared to long; I thought the glacier may devour me. I got scared and began to look around for what is missing. Where could I find the centre?Where will I find this circle, where can I dig up this gold.

After  a while I realized :

It can only be found on the surface

Yes, I searched for the sun within a glacier.

Rinko Kawauchi was born in the province of Shiga in Japan in 1972. She studied graphic design and photography at the Seian Junior College of Art and Design. She has won many awards and as exhibited photographic images in many galleries from London to Paris. She has also published three books. She lives in Toyko.

Three image taken by Rinko Kawauchi.

Source of information:

http:/www.theguardian .com/artanddesign/2011/dec/07/deutsche-borse-prize-photography-2012

aperture  Illimenence – Rinko Kawauchi.

Images: bing.com/images.

 

In part four we looked at the word “photography” and its meaning “light writing”

Philosophy of Photographs (2000 ,Chapter 1, page,8ff)  – Vilem Flusser.

Vilem Flusser makes a distinction between photography and the writing of information systems, He makes the point that when you read a sentence in a book you read from beginning to end in a linear way, you do not repeatedly return to the same sentence and read different words and read them again. In photography when you look at the image and the eye returns to certain elements within that image and sees them time after time. It is if the viewer   is re-experiencing the image each time he/she views the image.

In a painting all its elements are there to be seen simultaneously. The spectator may need time to examine each element of the painting but whatever  he reaches a conclusion the whole painting is there to qualify or reverse his conclusion.

Berger, 1972, p.26.

Walter Benjamim also expressed a similar sentiment in his essay ” The Storyteller”

The value of information  does not survive the moment in which it was new, it lives only at that moment; it has to surrender to it completely and explain itself to it without losing any time. A story is different. It does not expend itself. It preserves and concentrates its strength and is capable of releasing it even after a long time.

Benjamin(1936) 1999, pp89-90.

A photograph and even the digital photographs we take today are more than just information. The photograph contains a story and is more than just that recorder of information,  it is a recorder of a memory, special occasion and diary of someones life, or other lives.

My words taken from the quote on page 110, Project Two, Part Two – OCA Photography 1: Expressing your Vision.

 

Exercise 5.3

Henri Cartier- Bresson’s image  Behind the Gare Saint- Lazare.

This image is to be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is on permanent display in the photography gallery, but this is not true any more and not on permanent display and now in the study collection and I found out you can only view it by appointment only. I thought I would check this before I made a visit to see it. It can be viewed many times online and I found this image via Cartier – Bresson’s images via Bing.com/images.

Look again at Henri Cartier- Bresson’s image (see above). Is there a single element in the image that I can say  is the pivotal “point” to which my eye returns to time after time. What information does this “point” contain. Well here is my response.

What single element does my eye return to every time I see Henri Cartier- Bresson’s image? Well it is the figure jumping, or walking quickly over the large puddle. It just pulls me into the photograph. It is the reflection of the man silhouette in the puddle that draws me in. It is a mirror image and a perfect reflection. I also feel that the man is in a hurry, or late for an appointment, work or just on his way home . He is obviously in a hurry and the bleakness of the day is probably quickening his step, or he just does not want to get his feet wet. The whole scene is bleak, cold and dark. I also wonder what the man looked like, was he young or old and did he have a family? I know the image was taken in 1932 and in different era, but it still makes me wonder who this man was and why he was in such a hurry.

The two images below are mine. These are the only two images that I could find that closely reflects Henri Cartier- Bresson’s photograph.

My two were taken this January at a place called West Wittering in West Sussex.

Image 1: is my partner Andy walking along the beach. It was a cold, bleak day, but the sun was setting in a very watery and pale winters sky.

Image 2: a young girl walking towards the surf on the same beach, same day, but about an hour earlier than image 1.

In both these images we can see the persons and not just their shadowy silhouettes and in image 2 the girl is smiling at me. The day is cold, bleak and wintry and no puddles just a wet beach. The differences between the two images and Cartier- Bresson’s is that they are in colour and Cartier- Bresson’s is not.

Source of information:

Behind the Garre Saint- Lazare-  Time 100 Photos.

 

 

The poet Philip Larkin said that a photograph “lacerate simply by being over”

Part Five, Photography 1: Expressing your Vision.

 

My Shooting Mode Dial

Which of the shooting modes did I use to shoot the final practical exercise of the course in Exercise 5.2.

My mode dial is  beauty, creativity, freshness, light and the memento of bluebell wood.

 

My shooting mode of colour

Blue – Is the sign of the sky and sea and it is sign of depth and stability and many other trusting and noble qualities. You could use many of these qualities to describe a Bluebell Wood and its depth of beauty, serenity and stability of its presence year after year.

In my image there is a purple hint in the Bluebells too. Purple is creativity and the  stability of the blue.  Purple even means Royalty, but this does not apply to my image.

Green- is natural and earth. It also means healthy and peaceful. Many words that can describe the beauty and existence. Green is also associated with growth, humanity,freshness and fertility. Everything I would describe about a Bluebell Wood.

Brown- what comes to mind with brown…. earth and growth. Everything that goes into the brown soil grows. Bluebells grow and can grow year after year, decade after decade and forever.

Black- There is some black in my image, as you can see on the trunk of the trees in the foreground of the photograph. As we know black is associated with death, elegance and formality and mystery too. There are other meanings associated with black, but do not feature in this exercise. You could say there is elegance and formality in a Bluebell Wood, but there can be death too, as a Bluebell will die back every late spring only to return the following spring.  There is one last meaning that can apply to my photograph and that is and exclusive can mean many things, but there is one word, or meaning that exclusive can apply when we think of the landscape of a Bluebell Wood and that is  unique and indivdual. I certainly think unique and individual are two words that can best describe the lovely sight of a Bluebell Wood.

Then the there is the word “mememto”. What is the best way I describe this word when it comes to my image. Well memento of the occasion I first took the photograph and the memento of the day and  record of a beautiful and yet a fragile environment.

 

Source of information:

Image taken from online – bing.com/images.

Bluebell Wood taken from my own collection of photographs.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed this part of the course and found that I could look back at other parts of this course and apply my knowledge to this part.

 

 

 

 

 

Assignment Four. May, 2018.

My inspiration for assignment four.

Sally Mann

The light in the south is so different from the north, where you have this crisp and clear light. There is no mystery in that light. Everything is revealed in the northern light. You have to live the south to understand the difference. In summer, the quality of the air and light are so layered, complex, and mysterious , especially in the late afternoon. I was able to catch the quality of that light in a lot of the photos.

Sally Mann. Project 2- “Layered, complex  and mysterious…” Photography 1. Expressing your vision.

I found her images beautiful and yes mysterious and haunting.  I loved the way she played with light and shadows. By looking at her images you could identify that these images were taken within the hours of the afternoon. Her images really inspired me to choose section 4.2 for my assignment. Even though her quote is referring to the light of the south when it came to the south’s history in the US. That is where our approaches differ.

I took my images over a period of a day and purely on the basis of light and not history. My images show the softness and subdued light of the early hours to the harsh midday light to the bright and glorious fading light of the day. My image showed shadows, bright harsh light of the midday sun and then the evening fading glow with the long shadows to the end of the day, to the beauty of twilight.

Languages of Light

My assignment four.

Introduction:

Why did I select section 4.2 for my assignment? Well the answer is that I enjoyed this exercise, as it showed me how light can change throughout the day. I have never really thought about the change in light and how it changes from hour to hour, or even every second of the day. I realize now I take light for granted. Light is all around us and being a keen photographer light is important to me. I found this exercise interesting, so I decided to revisit it for my assignment.

How I produced my series of images:

I started by thinking how I should approach this assignment on the subject of light and how should I take these images demonstrating how light changes over a period of time. What time of day should I take these images? Should it be a single hour during the day, or even over a period of time? I then came up with the following idea, as I am aware  that light can change within an hour, or by the second. So then way not take the whole exercise over an entire day. Dawn to dusk. I then decided the way to achieve this was to take a series of photographs every two hours and show how light can change dramatically over a period of time. I went about fixing my camera from a preferred location that gave me the perfect observation point and that was from my  bedroom window. This gave me a commanding view of the changing light all around me.

I took my inspiration from Sally Mann and her quotation in project two. I myself live in the south and by studying her photographs and her study of light during the day and that was my link to what I saw in my own images.

I can also relate to her quote and here is part of that quote:

“The light differs from North to South in its crispness and clarity. In summer the quality of the air and light can be layer, complex and even mysterious and especially in the late afternoon”

Project 2. Part 4. Expressing your Vision.

 

Photographs.  18/05/2018.

6 am. Early Morning. Image 1.   f/5.6. 1/250 sec. ISO- 800.

 

A lovely time of the day where the air is clean and crisp and no air pollution. The sun had just risen and there are shadows and subdued light. Gentle light is bathing the houses and creating gentle shadows. The sky is bright, but the trees, roof and road in the foreground are still in shadow.

8 am. Morning. Image 2.  f/5.6. 1/250 sec. ISO- 800.

The sun is now bathing the whole street and creating shadows. The location of my house is that it faces west at the front and east at the back of the house, so the sun travels over my house. The sky is blue and wispy clouds. Shadows can be seen on the garage roof of the house in the right of the photograph. There are shadows on the houses too. Whereas the house opposite to my window is bathed in sunlight. The trees below my window are partially bathed in sunshine, but the roof and part of the road are still in shadow.

10 am. Mid-morning. Image 3.  f/5.6. 1/1300. ISO- 800.

The light in this photograph is bright, but being May the sun is at its highest and a month from the longest day. The light is creating shadows and especially on the garage  in the far right of the photograph and especially on the roof just below my window and there is also dappled shade under trees on the road outside my window. Shadows are now to be seen on the house on the left of the photograph. The trees are now bathed in sunlight.

12 pm. Midday. Image 4.  f/5.6. 1/1300 sec. ISO- 800.

The sun is now at its highest and overhead. The whole road and house are  bathed in light and a harsh light too. Light is very bright in late spring/ early summer. The shadow on the garage roof opposite has shifted and long shadows are to be seen on the lawn and behind the car in the distance. Light shadows can be seen above the white garage door. The roof outside the house is now bathed in light with a slight dappled shade from the trees above. Both trees and the road are partially bathed in light.

2 pm. Early afternoon. Image 5.  f/8. 1/640 sec. ISO- 800.

The difference in two hours and now we have lost the intense and bright sunlight and all is hazy. There is a shallow light with gentle shadows, but deep shadows. The houses opposite are bathed in light, but subdued and there are still shadows. The roof, trees and house opposite and vast majority of the road in the foreground are in deep shadow. There is a build-up of cloud is blocking the sun.

4 pm. Late – afternoon. Image 6.0  f/8. 1/1000 sec. ISO- 800.

Where has the light gone!!! The sun has disappeared behind low cloud and our light is slowly disappearing.   The houses opposite are still bathed in sunlight, but a rather subdued light. There is still shadowy  light, but not as prominent as earlier in the day. The entire view from outside the window is now completely void of sunlight and almost that of twilight.

8 pm. Twilight. Image 7.  f/6.3. 1/160 sec. ISO- 800.

I took this photograph about three hours later and light has faded. There is still a light post sunset glow on the houses and cars, but the entire view below my window is in darkness. The sky though is beautiful and that post sunset glow called ” blue haze” is really in evidence and is focal point of this photograph.

Conclusion:

One thing I have learnt through this exercise is how light and the time of day can be so important to a photographer and how it is so important in the creativity of the perfect image. I will never take light for granted again and will look at light in a different way.

 

I took these series of photographers back in March. The light is bright and creating shadows too, but the sunlight is not as harsh as it summer. Weather changes dramatically from one hour to the next. I also think the light in summer creates more shadows, but the light can be harsh and hazy and cause glare. I am thinking now should I used the above images instead of the ones in my assignment, but to late. One thing though by studying the two different set of images, you can see the light in spring is crisper and clean and not harsh and too bright, as they are in the summer.

Further research for Part Two.

I will use this section to look into photographers and information learnt and featured in this part.

Part Four. The Language of Light. March,2017. Completed May, 2018.

Project One  Exposure.

The light that enters your camera is measured by a light meter. The question is how does the camera translate this light to an exposure? In the setting auto and semi-mode the light will be calibrated to the mid-tone range of the histogram. So after capture the of the image the tone curve of the histogram will then be placed around the centre ( middle) of the histogram. This will work well, or reasonably well if the tones are well spread across the image taken. But of course will not work if the image is lighter, or darker than the overall mid-tone.

The picture above is a typical example of  Histogram of standard photographic image.

Source of information -see above.

The images below are typical examples of underexposed well exposed overexposed images and where they are placed on the photographic histogram.

On the left hand side of the histogram you can see the underexposed images have very little light and the  tone curve is centred on the left hand side.

The middle of the histogram is the ideal exposure and all the light is equally balanced throughout the image.

On the right hand side of the histogram you can see the overexposed images are saturated with light and this will place the tone curve to the right.

See more information on Histograms in Research Connected to Coursework Projects. March. 2016.

Exercise 4.1 (1)

I used Panasonic Lumix

I set my camera to semi- auto and took a series of three photographs representing:

Black Coat- dark tone.

Inside Ceral Box- grey tone.

White Piece of Paper- light tone.

From left to right:  Dark tone black coat, Grey tone inside cereal packet and Light tone- white sheet of paper.

The above images are the histograms for the above images.

Image 1 Dark tone                                Image 2 Grey tone                     Image 3 Light tone

The images above are photographic images of histograms of the above images.

The grey and white tones are relatively the same and not that difference in variation within the frame. Both histograms spike towards the mid-tones, even though the light tone is a small spike in the mid-tone. The grey tone has a slight, but gentle curve to the mid-tone. The images do not have an unpleasant colour cast.

A colour cast is a tint of a particular colour that is unwanted , which affects the whole, or even a portion of a photographic image. Certain kinds of light, such as artificial light cause film, or digital  cameras to have colour cast. Artificial light on a subject with a different light temperatures will cause colour cast problems in shadows.

There is not much variations between the three colours as grey is neutral colour between white and black.

The whole purpose of the exercise 4.1 (1) demonstrates and exposes the flaws when calibrating the cameras light meter to the mid-tone of the histogram. The thing is the light meter cannot tell whether the photograph is being taken at night, or daylight. A snow scene, or even a golden beach. The camera cannot just measure the light, as it only measures the reflected light the light that is reflected from the subject itself and not what is called the incident – that is the light that falls on the subject.

Source of information: Colour cast.  Wikipedia. org.

Exercise 4.1 (2).

Project Two  “Layered, complex and mysterious”.

Sally Mann.

Like everyone else I like to go out with my camera and take that perfect photograph. I often return in the evening and eager to see my days work, but the images  I carefully and thoughtfully took have not turned out the way I wanted them too. It is a common occurrence with many a photographer. I ask myself did I actually focus on the subject through the camera eye?   Did I visualise the scene, or object by looking through the viewfinder, or maybe there was a problem with the light?

The majority of photographers and me included tap it the matter of light when we see a sunset, or even a sunrise. There is a time before sunset and the that last hour when the light is intense, the colours are vibrant and the shadows long and the whole world becomes a visual experience. This magical hour is known as the “golden hour” I would even say that the colours after a sunrise can be a “golden hour” too.

Sally Mann (1981) an American Photographer is known for her large black and white images  firstly of her children and she then went onto to shooting landscapes that suggesting the theme of death and decay. I have never heard of this lady and looked her up and like her work.

Sally Mann when being interviewed by a Chinese Photography magazine describe the special light of the late afternoon.

She went on to say….

The light in the south is so different from the north, where you have the crisp and clear light. There is no mystery in that light. Everything is revealed in the northern light. You have to live in the south to understand the difference. In summer, the quality of the air and light is layered, complex and mysterious , especially in the late afternoon. I was able to catch the quality of that light in a lot of the photos.

OCA. Part Four- Project 2.

I have viewed Sally Manns series of photographs online at http:sallymann.com/selected works/ southern landscapes

Here is some examples of her work.

I find this image haunting and eerie too. The softness of the image and the feeling of coming out of a woodland into a misty, light enclave. The tree lit up in the foreground adds to atmospheric feeling of this image. The light is a mysterious light and where does come from? The layer of light starts with the trees and then the light and the vegetation in the background.

This image reminds me of a fairytale. The smiling tree and the mysterious, misty background. Just an ordinary tree on the edge of a field. Yet again we have the layers of the light from the darkness of the foreground, shade of the branches of the trees and the light in the fields.

Now this is an eerie and mysterious image.  The light looks like it is a burst of sunlight coming through the trees. There are again layers of light here too. The darkness of the foreground, shade and half-light reflected on the trees and leaves and the burst of sunlight in the background.

An unusual image and this little planter standing on its own. This was probably taken at sunrise and the large arch of morning light. The layers of light start with the darkness at the sides of the image, to the shade around the planter and then the brilliant sunshine in the background.

The above images are different and imaginary too. The light is very much in evidence here and light of all forms. From brilliant light to darkness and shade and semi- shade. There is a very sombre, eerie and mysterious feeling to.

Sally Manns. Bing Images.

The artist Brian Catling RA (1948). Known for his Sculptor, Artist, Poet, novelist and filmmaker and Performance Artist. He best known for his novel The Vorth.  A heady, mythical and fantasy Novel. It is a world of a vast and endless Forest full of Demons, Angels, Warriors and Priests. I have never read it and only found out about its existence in these pages.

The vulgar gate of the day gives no quarter and its insistent brightness will tell lies about all, forcing the subtlety back into interiors of trees and the other side of the sky.

(Catling, 2012,p179).

What Brain Catling is saying is the day is heralded  with no good taste and instant brightness and honesty forcing the acuteness and sharpness of the light back into the trees and the night-time on the other side of the world.

Source of information:  Good reads – The Vorth.  Brain Catling Bing.

Micheal Schmidt (1945- 2014). Micheal Schmidt actively sought out the morning light to take his photographs.  He was born in Berlin and is better known for taking photographs of the inhabitants in their concrete environment in stark black and white images.

I prefer  to work with neutral diffused light, i.e. to produce an image without noticeable shadows. The viewer must allow the objects portrayed in the photograph to take their effect upon him without being distracted by shadows or mood effects.

Quoted from: Schmidt’s winning portfolio for the 2014 Prix Pictet. http://www.prixpictet.com/portfolio/consumption-shortlist/micael-schmidt/

I tried to find this site and could find it. I will try again.

Images taken from online-   Gallerie Nordenhake, Stockholm, Sweden. http://www.nordenhake.com

This looks like post war playground. A playground without children.  You see playgrounds like this all over the world. Health and safety would have a “field day” with this playground, but this photograph was taken in the 1970s ( 1976-77) before the days of health and safety. I image this photograph was taken in the early morning and winter, as the light looks dark and wintry. You can see by the trees it is winter.

( 1989- 90). Bleak comes to mind. Sways of Berlin were blitzed during war. Like London a lot of regeneration was needed and sites like this took years to build on. The tower in the foreground looks like a relic left over from WW2. Yet again this photograph must have been taken in the early morning and being black and white it looks cold and the light looks as it is winter.

( 1980). A scene you see all over the world. Called Berlin after 1945.  It looks like it was taken on a winter’s morning. THe light is dark and misty. It looks bleak and cold. There is no warmth in this photograph. Taken in the early morning, so city life has yet to start.

I have seen housing estates like this in London. A post war scene. The light looks dull and a winter’s scene and taken in the early morning. There does seem to be an absents of people in his photographs.

( 1980) This looks like this photograph was taken in winter, but by the reflection on the wall of the house indicates that the sun is shining and by the reflection on the wall it could be sunrise , or sunset. But, Michael Schmidt is known for his morning photography.

Eugene Atget ( 1857-1927).  Born in France and a pioneer of documentary photography and his determination to document all the streets and architecture of Paris before their demise to the modern urbanization. Atget was known for taking his photographs at midday for a quality of photograph that he gave to his photography. As he moved further into his career has developed a personnel style he changed the time of the day that he started to take his photographs.

In his early views that he took of Paris he sought to illuminate his subject with an even clarity and the best way to convey the information he wanted to give. He would take his photographs at midday when shadows are minimal. His photographs in later life are marked with long shadows and subjective light and usually in the early morning, such as images of the Parc de Sceaux and the light is caused to create a mood, than to create an image to describe a place. These images were to mark the apex of Atget’s career.

Some of the images below are Eugene Atget’s Parisian Street Photography.

A typical Persian Park of the turn of the century. It look like the photograph was taken in the early hours of the morning in the summer, as the shadows are long. Also there does seem to be an absent of people. The image is also timeless, as some parks and gardens today still look like this.

A scene you do not see a lot of now. An old Parisian back street. There is something about old black and white, or sepia images that makes it hard to see the detail that you see in the modern days images. Atget’s photographs were taken at midday in the early days of his career. Mind you the street look deserted.

Another photograph taken in the 1920s by the looking at the model of the car. The typical Persian billboards, which are still there today. Taken again in the summer, as the light looks bright, but also at midday, as there seems to be  no shadows.

The photograph looks as it was taken in the winter by looking at the trees. The light is not as bright as some of the photographs taken in the summer. Yet again no shadows and probably taken during the day.

Another Parisian back street and also deserted. No casting shadows, but when was it taken early morning, or even midday?

This is one of my favourite photographs of his and I wondering what the crowd are looking at, as they all peer upwards. Is it one of the new inventions of the day…. such as the “flying machine”. The photograph looks as if it was taken at the turn of the century. The photograph must have been taken at midday, as they all seem to shielding their eyes and the shadows are short too.

The two photographs above look like early images of Atget of Paris. The typical street cafe and looks like the photograph was taken in the early hours and in winter. The same is for Notre Dame. There seems to shadows by what I can see. The cafe’s in Paris are always crowded with people even when this image was taken.

All images were taken from online and from Bing images.

More information on the above photographers will be looked at in more depth in Research and Reflection.

Exercise 4.2. Light over a period of a day.

These photographs were taken over a period of a day at different times of the day. I took these photographs from my bedroom window. The changing light and weather can differ from each second, minute and hour.

The photographs above were taken in March and before the clocks went forward, so the daylight was short. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ72.

I shot the four images in JPEG.

Morning 9 am. Grey start and overcast. A slight light on the horizon maybe an inclination that brighter day on the cards. There is a certain amount of light on  a grey day, but not enough to create the long shadows you would get at this time of the day. Mind you this photograph was taken in March and the sun is not at its peak. It rained a few minutes after taking this photograph.

1/100 sec. f/5. ISO 200. 9.51mm.

12 noon. What a difference a few hours can make. The sun has appeared and blue skies with Cumulus Clouds. Being midday the sun is at it highest, but being only the March the sun has yet to reach its warmest, or high point in the sky. There is a slight shadow from the tree in the garden of the house in the right hand bottom corner.

1/500 sec. f/8. ISO 200. 6.47mm.

3pm. Sun still out and plenty of light and small cumulus clouds. There are now shadows, as the sun is lower in the sky. The shadows are longer, as you can see on the rooftops and gables. The car parked (car facing the road) on the driveway and the shadows of the houses opposite are reflected onto the road.

1/500 sec. f/8. ISO 200. 6.47mm.

5.30-6pm. Twilight. This is a time of day that I like. The hour between night and the day. The end of the daylight. The time when the sky is beautiful and the shadows are replaced by reflection of the dying light reflected in the glass and metallic objects, such as the cars. There is glow on the horizon and this is can sometimes  be called the “Green Ray”, which is an optical illusion that occurs before, or after sunrise. I don’t think this glow on the horizon is this photograph is the “Green Ray”.  The sky is clear and this indicates that the night will be cold and especially at this time of year. The night was cold that night.  Do I have an example though of an incident of what landscape photographers call the “blue hour” by looking at the sky maybe this my image of the “blue hour”. I have included a section of this phenomena in 4.3, Project 3.

1/20 sec. f/4.5. ISO 200. 8.24mm.

Conclusion:

I found this exercise a pleasure. as it made me stop and look at the sky and the changes it goes through in a day with the light, reflection of light on the world around us. The changes in the weather and the position of the sun throughout the year and the moon too. Light is wonderful and without we and the natural world would not survive.

The Green Ray

Are Green Flashes  are a rare optical phenomena  that occur shortly after, or before sunset where a green spot is visible for a short period of time above the sun, or green rays shoot up from the sunset point. It is usually viewed from a low altitude where there is an unobstructed view of the horizon and this is usually best seen from the ocean. This phenomenon is often seen by airline pilots because they see the true horizon when in mid-flight and they are flying westward and the sun’s motion is slightly slower.

Examples of the Green Ray.  Taken from Bing images online.

Project Three. The beauty of artificial light.

Daylight changes every second of the day and it can be dark one moment and then a ray of sunshine will appear. The advantage of artificial light is that it stays the same. We would never be able to lead our twenty-first lives if it was not for artificial light.

In this section I will discover how the beauty of artificial light and how it create some of the most beautiful images we see today.

Cinematographer Christopher Doyle (1952- present day). Australian -Hong Kong Cinematographer.

The beauty of artificial light can be seen on people’s faces and can highlight their expressions and portray emotions. His film the In the Mood for Love and with Director. Wong Kar-Wal, 2000. Christopher Doyle is a legend when it comes to the Asian cinema. He dismisses the idea of natural light  in his work and there is nothing he does not know about light.

I watched the film and watched it a few times. I found the trailer beautiful, emotional and sad. The use of the artificial light is beautiful it showed the emotion, sadness and excitement of a forbidden love. The scenes were beautifully scripted and the use of the artificial light highlighted  the emotions of the actors  by  creating shadows across their faces and highlighting the emotions of a love that can go no further. The background scenes were also atmospheric, emotionally charged and full of shadowy hallways, corridors and back streets. The whole film was beautifully filmed and this was due the sensitive use of the medium of artificial light by  Christopher Doyle.

This scene is beautiful and the light is intense and the use of shadows on the actors faces creates the scene of emotional love.

The long corridor of light and shadows is beautifully done and captures this particular scene beautifully.

The use of artificial light works perfectly here and the shadows created on the faces of the actors creates a mood of romance and un forbidden love.

I will look at Christopher Doyles work in more detail in Research and Reflection.

Rut Blees Luxemberg ( 1967- present day).

Rut Blees Luxemberg  is known for carrying round a large-format camera around the streets of London at night. She only takes three to four exposures a month.  A photographer of German origin and is known for exploring the urban landscape. Her book is a series of photographs called Liebeslied ( My Suicide). The series of photographs were taken in a collaboration with Alexander Garcia Duttmann who was  Philosopher and had an interest Anaesthetics.

The images below show a series  of Rut Blees Luxembergs images all taken in London. Bing Images online.

The images above are a glimpse of London at night and the beauty of artificial light and how it can transform an ordinary scene into an image of beauty, shadows and light.

I will look at Rut Blees Luxembergs work in more depth in Research and Reflection.

Stella Achimsa was inspired by Rut Blees Luxembergs work and she created her own collection of work and by using a tripod allowed Stella to create her series of night shots and by using a frame with precision and by using manual mode helped Stella to fine- tune her exposures, that reveals several kinds of different qualities light within a single image.

I cannot find any reference to Stella’s work online.

Picasso – Pablo Picasso ( 1881- 1973).

Probably one of the most famous painters of his time and known for his co-founding of the Cubist movement. He was born in Spain, but spent the majority of his life in France. He was also a sculptor, printmaker, ceramics, stage designer, playwright and poet. He was though never a photographer, but he had a fascination for artificial light. This is something that I personally never knew.

The light I have at night is magnificent. I even prefer it to natural light. You should come over one night to see it . A light that sets off every object, dark shadows making a ring around the canvases and projected onto beams; you find them in most of my lives, almost all of them painted at night. Whatever the atmosphere, it becomes our own substance, it rubs off on us, arranges itself to fit our nature.

(quoted in Brassai,1999, p311) OCA Part Four, Project Three.

I will do more research into Brassai and Pablo Picasso in my Research and Reflection.

Pablo Picasso’s  favourite photographer was Brassia ( 1899- 1984 ). His photographs of Paris by Night (1936) was one of most influential photo books of the twentieth century.

Paris by Night – Tony Ray- Jones’ Creative Camera interview with Brassai – American Suburb.

Link: http://www.americansuburbbx.com/2011/08/interview-brassai-with-tony-ray-jones.html

B 11641

Images taken from ASX Tony Ray-Jones interview with Brassai online ( see link above).

I will do more research into this section in my Research and Reflection.

Pablo Picasso being renowned for his co- founding of the Cubist movement and walk round many a Gallery and this is what you see when you view his work. Well this what I have experienced. He experimented in a form of “light drawings” were he made with a small electric light in a darkened room made light drawings that disappear as soon as they are created.  Yet these images are still around for us to look at six decades later. Many were put on display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York in the 1950s.

These images are an example of Picasso’s fascination with Light and the beauty that a simple electric light can produce.

Made by a simple light. This images looks like a man running holding a batten in his hand. I like the series of ghost figures of Picasso while he is drawing this image.

This light image looks like an animal. Horse, Deer, or an animal with horns.

Now I baffled to imagine whet this imagine represents  But taking a hard and longer look it comes across as some flowers in a vase. There are many forms to this image and shapes that one can see.

Now to me this is a Cockerel. Proud and strutting Cockeral. I do like the images of Picasso behind.

I will look into Light Photography in more detail in Research and Relection.

All images in this section were taken from Bing online.

Art and Artists – Behind the Picture: Picasso “Draws” With Light. (Ben Cosgrove. Jan 29, 2012.)

Sato Shintaro (1969- present day).

Born in Japan and famous for his Tokyo nightscapes.

“Neon lights,shimmering neon lights and at the fall of night this city’s made of light?

OCA. Project Four. Part three.

A line from the eletro-pop band Kratfwerk. I know the song well, as I was a fan of this band.

Sato Shintaro uses the “blue hour” to take his photographs. In his series Night Lights he explains you do not have complete darkness to produce a quality night scene. He keeps his exposures hard to avoid reducing the night shots to a series of pool of lights and framed in black.

Images taken from Bing online and Sato Shintaro Photo Gallery.

The “blue hour” what is it. Well it is that period just before sunset and just before sunrise and only last around twenty – thirty minutes. So if the sun sets at lets say 5pm the “blue hour” would last between 5.10pm to 5.30pm.

It is when the sun has just set, or about to rise.This when the sun is a significant distance below the horizon and the residue light indirect sunlight causes this phenomenal blue effect.  The sky takes on a deep beautiful blue light and the landscape is covered with a suffused with a bluish light. This beautiful phenomena  varies from location to location and depends on the time of the year and air pollution too.

Landscape photographers take an advantage of this light and it can create some wonderful images. See below.

Taken from online website: Earthsky- What is the Blue Hour? Deborah Byrd in Earth. August 30th,2014.

Exercise 4.3

The beauty of Artificial Light/ Natural Light.

Short sequence of shots showing us the beauty of artificial light and that of natural light too.  I will share a sequence of my own night shots and some day shots too and then a series of Sato Shintaro.  Who seem to only concentrate on nighttime images.

Night shots can be tricky and you need to have the correct white balance. It can be a tricky thing to master, but interesting, as I have experience this problem myself with night photography. I took a long time and would say still learning how to take a good night image. Night photography can also have a mixture of colour temperatures in the same shot.

White Balance (WB). Is a process of removing unrealistic colour casts, so the object that appears white in person are rendered white in the photograph. A proper camera WB has to take into account the “colour temperature” of a light source, which refers to the warmth or coolness of white light. Our eyes are very good at judging white under different light sources. A digital camera can have problems with an Auto White Balance (AWB)- can then create unsightly blue, orange and even green colour casts.

I have taken a series of photographs taken during the day and then at night. They are all taken in the same location, but not in the same spot. The area in these images is a place called Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth.

All photographs were taken on a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ72.

I shot the eight images in JPEG

Eight images taken in the same location.

The top four images taken in the late afternoon on a winter’s afternoon in February. I can say that my images do have the correct WB, as the Spinnaker of the Tower is actually White. I think I have the WB correct in all images, as the colours are exactly the same at what I was looking at in person.

Technical  Stuff:

Image 1: 1/6000 sec. f/2.8. ISO 100. 3.58mm

Image 2: 1/2000 sec. f/2.8. ISO 100. 3.58mm

Image 3: 1/2000 sec. f/2.8. ISO 100. 3.58mm

Image 4: 1/2000 sec. f/4 . ISO 160. 3.58mm.

The bottom four images were taken at night. In the same location on the same day as the images above.  The night air was cold and crisp. The WB looks correct to me, as the colours portrayed are what I was seeing in person. There is of course artificial light to take into account and thus resulting in the colours of the surrounding buildings being enhanced.

Image 1: 1/4 sec. f/2.8. ISO 400. 3.58mm

Image 2: 1/5 sec. f/2.8. ISO 400. 3.58mm

Image 3: 1/4 sec. f/2.8. ISO 1250. 3.58mm

Image 4: 1/4 sec. f/2.8. ISO 500. 3.58mm.

By examing the eight photographs is that the WB is roughly well-balanced. I think my daytime shots have an accurate WB more so than the night shots. I cannot see any unsightly blue, orange, or even green colour casts. I have to say though in image 3(nighttime) there is a slightly  unsightly orange colour cast to the building and it seems the WB on my camera was not affective enough.

The next four images are photographs taken by Sato Shintaro and his beautiful nighttime photographs of Tokyo. To see more images go to:

http:// sato-shintaro.com/work/night_lights/index.html

These photographs are beautiful and I am standing in Tokyo myself. The colours are vibrant, crisp and beautiful. The WB to my eye is perfect and I cannot see any blue, orange, or green colour cast. Mind you Sato is a professional photographer.

Well by looking at the photographs above what is the difference between the daylight and nighttime shots.

For one daylight can be perfect, as it is natural light, but taking photographs in the natural light can be affected by weather, seasons and all other factors that can affect the colours of the chosen subject. The sun can be too bright, the rain can make a photograph to dull, or even dark and can affect the colours in the photograph. But the natural light can be beautiful too and creating a perfect image, but it is down to the WB to give the perfect image by controlling unwanted colour casts and gives us the colour we can see in person.

Now nighttime photography can have its challenges too. Artificial light can make the natural and artificial environment to look to bright, or even dark. The WB can be tricky to achieve if you’re not as experienced in nighttime photography. Neon lights and street lights can create different colours of light and create unwanted colour casts , especially the old street light, which gave of an orange glow.  Night lights can also create warm and cool light too and it is the WB that can alter what we see and create the perfect nighttime photograph and not see those unwanted colour casts that artificial lights can create. In image 3 my AWB that I used did not work as to what I wanted to achieve and the building looks to orange to me.

I personally cannot see the difference in the photographs above to my photographs in exercise 4.2. I used the same camera and AWB will be the same. The only thing I can see that is difference is that my nighttime photographs are probably not the same as what I saw with my naked eye when it came to accuracy of the”colour temperature” of that light source  which predicted the warmth and coolness of the subjects around me. I think in my night images there was a certain amount of colour cast, but that will be down to me and my lack of taking nighttime photographs and lots of practice.

There is one thing that we do not need that WB for is the naked eye and that will always be valuable and a camera, as good as they are becoming in sophistication can never replace the accuracy of the human eye and capturing the beauty of the natural and artificial light.

I enjoyed this section and will make sure that I will concentrate in  taking more nighttime photographs and my knowledge of WB.

I will be covering more of this subject and Sato Shintaro images in Research and Reflection.

Project Four. Ex nihilo.

What is Ex nihilo?

Well the meaning behind this term is “out of nothing” It is a Latin phase and often appears in the conjunction with the concept of creation….. creatio ex nihilo. It is chiefly it often refers to philosophical, or theology contexts, but also occurs in other fields.

Now where does it come of use in photography?

By using light, colour and contrast with an object you will create an image out of nothing, well that is my take on it.

The images below are photographs I took few years ago. Could this be my take on Ex nihilo?… image out of nothing. I set up a scene were I just placed a simple object on a windowsill, table and candle in a vase and importantly light and created something that we can see below.

When taking these photographs I thought I was taking photographic version of still life. Well you learn something everyday.

Now there are some factors that you will need to capture that image and they are under the photographers control, well most of the time!

Quality, contrast, direction and colour.

Quality- the standard of something that is measured against other things of a similar kinds.

Contrast- something that is strikingly different, but has a close association with each other.

Direction- a course in which something, or someone moves.

Colour- Is a characteristic of human visual perception through four common primary colours: red, yellow and blue. Secondary colours: Green, orange and purple.

Now looking at in a photographic view:

Quality- as we know can be subjective, but at its basic it can be described as the simple difference between hard and soft light.  Hard and soft light can be detected by looking at shadows. Hard light has a crisp, well- defined shadow whereas the shadows of soft light is diffused. In a studio this is all controlled by lights.  The size of light can vary from a small spotlight ( substitute for the sun) gives of a hard light. Large light is portrayed by using a softbox ( overcast sky) creates a soft light. Moving the light away from a subject will make it smaller and harder. Bringing the light towards the subject will make it larger and softer.

The light can be modified by using attachments such as grids, fresnel lenses for hard light. Diffusion and reflectance for soft light.

Contrast-

Direction-

Colour-

All image above were taken from online.

Exercise 4.4. Lighting- Ex nihlo

For this exercise I did not have all the professional equipment. I used what was around me. I used the lounge windowsill, as my base and a white card, which I propped up against the window to diffuse the light and create some shadows. The light was natural. I used several different objects, such one glass egg and three natural stone eggs and the basil plant from the kitchen windowsill. All very rudimentary but looks quite effective.

Images 1- 2

I placed the three eggs ( two natural stone and one glass) on the windowsill and then placed the card behind to diffuse the light. I took the objects from above ( eggs) and zoomed in om image 2. I found by looking down on the objects I would see more shadows and light. Image 1 is  slightly lighter than image 2 and this was due to the sun going behind the clouds while I was taking the photographs. I did think should I put these two images together, but then thought why not, as it shows how natural light can influence a photograph and enhance it or not.

The shadows in both photographs are dark, but soft shadows and the lines are not hard. The shadows are long and this may, or is something to do with the light direction coming from the window. There are areas and patches of light and the light on the card behind in image 1 is soft and diffused and long, pronounced shadows, while in image 2 the light is still soft, but the shadows on the card are not as pronounced and smaller.  The light on the objects are reflective, but more so in image 1 than image 2, but this may have something to do with the light coming through the window.

Images 3-4

I concentrated on one large object this time (large glass egg). I yet again zoomed slightly in on image 1 compared to image 2.

Both images are light and the light is reflective on the surface of the object in both images. I took both these images from a distance, well not a great distance and the light varies from which part of the object you look at. The light is hard and soft at he base of the object and there is two lanes of light. An outer layer of soft and less defined light shadow and an inner hard layers and well-defined shadow with a hard-line. The shadows are slightly lighter in image 2. Due to the fact the object is not so close to the camera lens.

Images 5- 7.

Well I took my inspiration from the kitchen windowsill and basil plant. I placed the basil plant on the windowsill in the lounge where we do get a wonderful natural light and in the afternoon when all these photographs were taken. I took a series of photographs over 10 secs and a set of three.

I yet again stood a distance away and took a series of three photographs. The light is beautiful on the surface of the leaves and beautifully reflected. The series of soft and hard shadows on the planter from soft to hard in elongated layers. The light is coming from behind and you can see this from the light on the taller stems compared to the leaves in the forefront. There are soft shadows and hard shadows in all three images and this makes for a very interesting series of images. One last point though each image from 1- 3 the light gets lighter and image 3 is lighter than image 1.

Just shows us that how light can change from one second to another over a time lap of seconds.

Conclusion.

Interesting an insight into the complexities of light and how it can affect an outcome of a photograph. I know the brief said natural objects, but I thought the glass egg would work.  You can see in each image and how I have shot them and the difference in shadows.  Because I used the natural light of the window with a piece of card and no artificial light. I was at the mercy of the changing light outside. In image 2 the light is slightly darker and only slighter and this was down to a change in light outside, but only slightly. By zooming in and out also changed the nature of the shadows and hardness and softness of the shadows too. Also this affected the light reflection from the objects too. Texture and colour also comes into question too. Glass will reflect more light, but even a shiny waxy surface, such as the Basil leaves can reflect light too.

Assessment Criteria : Creativity.

This is part of Project four, but I have approached it as a Research and Reflection section.

Creativity- to use the imagination or original ideas to create something inventress (noun).

Imagination- forming new ideas, images of concepts and the ability of the mind to be creative and resourceful. Part of the mind that imagines things (noun).

Invention- action of inventing something. Creative ability. Something fabricated or made up ( noun).

Experiment- discovery, scientific or test a hypothesis (noun).

Developing- developing a new idea or developed (noun).

I have always had some form of creativity within me, as my mother is an artist and mainly landscape and my father loved his photography. I inherited the creative gene mainly from my mother’s side of the family. My great-uncle of my mother’s side went to art school and my mother studied art at diploma level. I also believe, or have been told, that I had a relative who was a member of the Royal Horticultural Society and exhibited Roses at Chelsea Flower Show after the First World War. So creativity is there and I loved to draw as a child and love gardening, I dabbled with photography in my teens, but only came back to serious photography ten years ago.  When I started this course I was excited, scared and yes confused still am at times. I may of not found my “personal  voice” in full, but have tried to in certain places in Level One.

I made a Google search for “landscapes” and  on an area of Britain, well England, that I really like. I love the landscapes of Cornwall, Cotswolds and many more, but I have fascination for the ls seems Yorkshire Dales. It also a coincidence that I am watching the Tour du Yorkshire on ITV and they happen to be in the Yorkshire Dales.

It is true that all the images on Google on the first few pages of landscape image section do tend to all look the same. I though searched deeper and typed in the Yorkshire Dales and came across the images below.

The Yorkshire Dales is unique and I love the beauty of the stone walls and little stone barns, but it is the natural landscape and limestone paving, which have been called “England’s Rain Forest” with their unique “flower and fauna”. I though love the hills and peaks and especially Whernside, Mighty Inglebrough and Pheny Gent. They are beautiful.

Below I have saved a few images of the Yorkshire Dales and some images of the following peaks mentioned above.

The first three images are of from left to right are: Pheny Gent, Inglebrough and Whernside.

Courtsey of Google images.

Getty images and  Alamay Stock Photos.

More images.

Ingleborough at dawn from Twistleton Scars in the Yorkshire Dales

Taken from online Google images landscapes.

Beautiful artistic versions of the Yorkshire Dales.

Courtesy of Google images.

I again typed in Yorkshire Dales and here is what I found.

By typing in “Portrait” I did find the same scenario, as I did with the landscape pages, with all the lists of accomplished artists and photographers and many similar images too. I came across the term “Portraiture” and many of the  images I viewed conform to this genre.

What is Portraiture?

The art of painting or taking portraits. Vivid and detailed description. Portrait.

Portrait- is a painting, photograph, sculptor or another artistic representation of the face and the expression on the sitters face is predominant.  The person is often looking or engaging with the painter etc.

Some Portraiture images Bing online.

I have selected examples of Portraiture images taken over the centuries.

The Ancient World

The 18th and 19th Centuries

Modern Day

One famous Photographic Portraiture “Afgan Girl” was published in the National Geographic Magazine in the 1984. This is image that resonated  around the world due to the colour of her green eyes. It was one of the major images of the 20th century. This is a beautiful image and I wonder what she looks like today? Well here is the photograph.

What a difference and the years take their toll. Mind you this photograph was taken fifteen years ago.

See : usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/03/12/afgan-girl.htm

Courtsey of Bing images and National Geographic.

Some of the photographs above especially the ones of the Yorkshire Dale landscapes I have seen of numerous occasions and been photographed many on many an occasions are the peaks, stone walls and small stone dwellings. These are the very images that the Yorkshire Dales are famous for.

Mount Fuji

In his series of photographs Fuji City landscape photographer John Davis ( 1949-present day).  He imaginatively combines the traditional elements with the cities contemporary industrial landscape.

http://www..johndavis.uk.com/fuji%20text.htm

I typed in the web address above and was unable to connect. The image above was taken from John Davis website via Bing.

Chris Steele Perkins (1947- present day).

He is a Magnum photographer and part of a cooperative group of photographers based in London, Paris, Tokyo and New York.

Chris Steele Perkins uses the same juxtaposition as John Davis when he pairs the remote Mount Fuji with ordinary everyday scenes.

http://www.prixpictet.com/portfolios/earth-shortlist/chris-steele-perkins/

Bing images.

JAPAN. FUJI CITY. Petrol station and Mount Fuji.

The images above are quite strange and I feel that this beautiful and majestic volcano is being used and relegated to a secondary position or an incidental position in the photographs, so that it can act as a background image for the major image in the photographs. Like a side attraction.

There is also an exception of how an image that is well documented should be produced and presented. The photographer Ernst Has ( 1921- 1986) described his own experience of trying to produce a fresh perception and way to photograph an ordinary subject.

He has quoted:

I looked at an apple for such a long time until it became the first apple I had ever seen. I was so excited that I called a friend to tell him my experience. But how could I find the right words for what I had experienced?  How could I describe my visual sensations with litany words such as red, yellow, green, shining and round after this movement of nuances and counteraction in form and color, even in touch and smell? Anyhow I did not find the right words and my friend did not believe me, so I ate the apple as I have eaten many an apple before. It was a fairly good apple.

http://www.visuramagazine.com/ernst-haas (accssed 16/06/14)

Taken from online.

When interviewed in The Face in the year 1984 in the December David Bailey quoted the same statement, but in a simpler form :

In photography everything is so ordinary:; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the ordinary.

http://enwikiquote.org/wikl/Photography ( accessed 16/06/14)

Many other photographers have observed and responded to the above statement too and many will same the thing too in the years to come.

Comments taken from Project Four Ex nihilo OCA.

Exercise 4.5 Googling Images.

Googling Sunsets

Make a series of images of a landscape, portrait and any other images.

I am not an expert at “screen grabbing”

I am no expert at “screen grabbing” and have never really had to perform this task before. I have spent ages trying to fathom this out and at last the penny has dropped and here is my first screen grab and a silent cheer went up!!! I realize it only half of a page, but I will go back and practice my new learnt skill.

Googling Landscapes – Sunsets.

I have choosen  Seascapes as my screen grab.

Sunsets,  Beaches and Skies.

Where is the creativity?

Well the creativity is in taking the image and creating the final image we see on our  screen, but when you see pages and pages of the same subject so all the images just blurr into one image, you do ask yourself where is the indivduallity and creativity. If you though look at all the different images you do see creativity and individuality, as all the images may be sunsets and seascapes, but all are differnt scence, or even a place.  There are images of just a sunset and some of the images have seascape too, but each image is different and unquie.

My images – Beaches and light.

Is there creativity here?

All images were taken on a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ72.

Lyme Regis, Golden Cap Beach and West Bay, Dorset.

I added some of my own images and like to think they are different from the Google images above and first glance they do not seem to be and yes they have the sunset, or light scene and have the standard format, such as a beach, sky and waves and the odd person and the token dog, as you see in all standard internet images. Sometimes when you look at images taken from internet they have that same view, weather is the same and location too.

With mine I have tried to create something that is different and unique putting my personnel touch and adding the creative touch only the photographer can do to his/her image. All images on Google images are probably taken by the same person, or persons , but they are grouped together representing a certain image…. golden beach all in daylight and perfect weather.

The following images were taken in Dorset. Here I have concentrated on the sea , the cliffs, sky and beach. I also like to include  a person or persons and animals too. I think it adds some interest to the photograph. I have also grouped together images showing dramatic skies and crashing waves too. I think the power of “mother nature” is part of a good landscape image. Also light can make or break an image and sometimes

 

Marloes Beach, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

 

Conclusion:

What have I learnt from Part Four?

Well light and how light is so important in the art of photography and in the entire industry of capturing the world around us. I always known that how important light is when processing and taking that image and how the time of the day is also important and the time of year and season too.

The section I was particularily enjoyed was Exercise 4.2, This was a pleasure to do, as an assignment and really made me aware of how light changes from every second to every hour of the day. I watched and took my photographs over a two hour period and the changes so much in eveidence. This section made me think of the light around me.

I also learnt that there are “golden hours” in photography and the beautiful “blue hour” that occurs before sunrise and after sunset and then there is the the beauty of artificial light and how to create the beautiful night- time image.

This was a very interesting section and a pleasure to study.

 

 

Further research for Part Four. June 2018.

Section 4.2.

Further research.

I really enjoyed this section and I used it for my assignment.

I have always been interested in the weather and meteorology, the seasons and changing light over the period of time. I even love the beauty of the night sky too and been a keen astronomer since my early childhood. These two disciplines also encouraged me to take up photography and so I thought  in this section instead of just focusing on light and photography and how it affects are photographs, why show how light over a 24 hour period affects the wider world – natural and man-made.

The images below show light over a period of a day.

The first light of dawn to sunrise and slow rise of the sun and shadows it creates, as we approach midday and then the slow descent of the sun towards sunset beauty of twilight and night.

Image 1. Shows how in summer the days are long and sun reaches its highest point in the sky. The light harsh and bright and shadows are shorter. Nights are shorter, but we lose the deep darkness of winter.  Even if the day is overcast the light is still bright.

Image 2. Shows how light changes at sea and reflections on the water below. Now this is my take on this photo. The shadows are long, but these shadows are from the landmass only. The light on the water gets brighter as we approach midday and in summer the sun is at its highest and the water acts as a mirror and even in winter light is still relatively bright. The light becomes warmer and this is reflected on the water too. Shadow’s on the water from the landmass are shorter.

Image 3.  Light throughout the day in our cities. It looks as if this image of Houses of Parliament was taken in  winter, as the light seems subdued and not the harsh light you get in summer, unless it is an overcast day. The shadows on the water are long, but this is from the reflection of the building itself. As we approach the end of the day the shadows seem to increase and the light warm. This is of course the influence of the buildings and the artificial light too. The night sky in cities never become truly dark and there is in this image sense of twilight, but could this be the presence of light pollution from the city below.

Image 4. Seems to either to be in one of the polar regions, or a winter landscape. The light is bright, due to the surrounding snow, which acts as a reflection. Looking at the  photo in more detail it could be midsummer in one of the polar regions, as the light is bright and the sun seems to be high in the sky and when the sun approaches the horizon the light is still relatively bright, but now we can see the casting  of deeper shadows on the snow compared to the midday sun.

Image 5.  This image is of a landscape again, but taken in winter, as we can see the tree in the centre of the photograph has no foliage. The landscape is Moorland and the day is bright and casting many shadows over the period of he day. The shadows are less prominent during the early part of the day, but towards midday the shadows are deep and long, which usually does not happen when the sun  approaches midday and in the winter the sun is not directly overhead, as it is in the summer. The shadows in this image are being created by the sun shining on the lone tree and this is what is casting the long shadows upon the ground. As the sun slowly descends the shadows become deeper and longer, as the sun disappears behind the hills.

Image 6. This is the process of the light on water from midday to dusk. In  image 1 the sun is high in the sky and the light is bright, but as we move into image 2 the light becomes hazy and there is a slight reflection in the water below. In image 3 the light is taking on a beautiful blue hue and this is producing  pink clouds above and reflections on the water below, as we approach sunset and this is a beautiful time of day for catching that perfect image. In image 4 the sun is disappearing below the horizon and creating a small reflection on the water, but we now have a “golden glow” all around and this creates pure white clouds. This is a perfect setting for taking that perfect photograph, as there isn’t the intensity of light, that you see in images 1 and 2.  In images 1 and 2 the light is bright and hazy, but in image 2 the light is incredibly  bright and harsh too and not the ideal light for taking that perfect image. Well in mind isn’t.

Image 7. Is a satellite image of the UK and part of mainland Europe and Africa.   This is my favourite image showing the sunlight on the UK, as it approaches the hours before sunset and this can also be seen in Western Europe and the Western fringes of Africa. As we approach Central Europe and Africa the sun has set and we now see twilight, but darker enough to see the lights of the cities and other settlements below.  You can though easily spot the mighty expanse of The Saharan Desert below and it’s white subdued light. As we move further east we are in darkness and the lights on humanity is displayed below. A photograph we would all like to take.

 

The next set of images shows us how light effects the natural world on land and at sea in a 24 hour period.

I know that the original section was all about light over a period of time, but I thought I would diverge from the main topic and look at the movement of light on the natural world. I have chosen two subjects that are poles apart.

Image 1. Marine life, as all life on this planet of ours is affected by light movement and changes. In this instance I have inserted a small image of fish and their reaction to light. Light can penetrate to great depths out at sea and rivers etc too. At sea there is no large landmasses to obscure light, well there are islands and other small landmasses of course, but large areas of water can act as a mirror and reflect light.

Looking at the image below you can see in photograph 1 that fish are in small numbers, but more predatory. Now in photograph 2 there are larger amount of fish, but they are less predatory and could we say that fish tend to congregate at night and sleep and safety in numbers. Now when we look at the last photograph and we now see that artificial light is the main source of light and fish are in abundance and predatory too.  So we could conclude for this, is that fish are more active and in abundance too. Could it be something to do with the stimulation of the artificial light?

Image 2 and 3. Shows us the effects o light movement of plant life and in case flowers. Two different kinds of flowers and the same reaction. Flowers will close their petals at night due to the fact that  the warmth of the day enables the inner petals to grow and when the light fades the temperature drops, but the outer petals will still grow and so the flower will close its petals. As the light and temperature increases the flower will open it’s petals and growing will start again. The flower will respond to temperature and light.

Sunflowers will follow the sun across the sky like a solar satellite dish and this is called heliotropism and it is believed they have 24 hour clock and will return their face to the east when the sun drops below the horizon.  Some other flowers will also react to the change of  light and sun too

Source of information:

Wikipedia and Google images.

 

Further research

Natural light in photography.

Light as we have discovered is incredibly important in photography. By mastering the light you can improve the quality of the photographs you take. Landscape photography relies on heavily on light and the natural surroundings. The light can change within seconds and the weather too.

Different types of natural light can produce a wide range of different appearances in the finished image and even if the light source is the same.

The images above show the difference between flat natural light and an improved better natural light.

There are three factors that can influence how natural light can render the subject of the perfect image: weather, time of the day and camera direction, such a light flare from the sun.

Example.

Even though natural light comes from the sun and sunlight, but the illumination is composed of several factors:

Time of Day                                  Contrast            Colours                 Direction of Sun.

Midday                                          Highest              Neutral White     Near Vertical

Evening &Morning                     High                   Slightly Warm     Mid to Low

Golden Hour-Sunrise/Sunset    Medium            Warm to Fiery    Near Horizontal

Twilight, Dawn and Dusk          Low                    Cool Pastel          Below Horizon.

 

The above image of a golf ball is a perfect example of light reflecting on the earth.

Direct sunlight results in warmer and high contrast in colours and a diffused skylight can cause a cooler and a low contrast.  See image above.

Bounced light has the qualities that can reflect light of a reflecting object, or surface. This can produce a softer lighting effect. See images below.

 

It all depends the time of day and the amount of each component changes resulting in overall illuminations with different white balances ( the process of removing unrealistic colour casts , so an object that appears white in person is rendered  white in the photo. Camera white balance has to take into account “colour temperature” of the light source of the surroundings whether it is warm, or cool light of the white light).   Also that of the contrast too.

In the next series of images and diagrams we look at the light from astronomical  high noon and when the sun is at its highest. Then the process of light from sunrise to sunset. All of the this does refer to a clear day.

The time of day does play an important part in the quality of a photograph. When the sun is at its highest which is high noon and contrast is at its highest and the color can be overstated in the image compared to what the colour of an object looks in reality. The lower the contrast, which happens at Twilight, Dawn and Dusk.  This is due to the fact that sunlight has to pass through more of the atmosphere and bounces of the ground towards the chosen object. Also the atmosphere can selectively filter more of the sun’s blue light in the light spectrum and that results in a warmer light overall.

Weather and the time of the day, type and extensive cloud cover can be very influential in light variation. It can cause changes between the balance of direct sunlight and diffuse skylight, which in turn affects contrast and colour temperature of the light source.

Evening and Mid-Morning

In the evening and the mid-morning the light becomes slightly warmer, and this cast noticeable shadows. The light now comes from the side and subjects will appear to be dimensional. The light more predictable than the light at sunrise and sunset, as because this time of day the light is less dependent on surrounding mountains, or the location of the cloud line.

Evening beauty and mid morning warmth.

 

Clear Midday Sunshine

Midday lighting is composed of direct, downward sunlight and has little chance of scattering and diffuse through the atmosphere, or to bounce off the surrounding ground and illuminate the subject that is to be photograph indirectly. Taking a photograph at midday is not ideal, as the light is harsh and most neutrally coloured light of any time of the day and the less desirable type of natural light.

Due to the drawbacks in taking photographs this time of day there is some advantages. Water can appear to be more transparent, since light  penetrates deeper and direct reflections off the surface are less likely.

Considered to be the wrong time of the day to take a photograph, as the sun is bright and to much glare, whatever time of the year.

Golden Hour, Sunrise and Sunset

This is the hour just after sunrise and just before sunset the beautiful “golden hour” is recognized as the time of day. which most desirable time of the day for light  photography. The light is characterized by horizontal light that casts long shadows and gives the subject a warm glow.

Sunrises and sunsets make exciting photography and high varied light and primarily because the subtleties in the weather.  Light at sunrises and sunsets reflects from underneath the clouds and causing a soft, warm light.

Now sunrises compared to a sunset. Sunsets and sunrises are in theory identical, but weather patterns can be different at each time of the day, so when it comes to photography photographers tend favour sunrise, or sunset. At sunrise the light starts bright and then steadily fades and also mist and early morning dew on foliage can either be welcoming, or the reverse and also the environment can be quiet, calm a quiescent quality and particularly with scenes that involve water. Now sunsets on the other hand sunsets the light will steadlily build and give the beautiful glow of sunset. Myself I have no favourite and find both times of the day beautiful. Mind you tha first light of the day is a clean light and has no dust, or pollution that has built up in the atmosphere of the course of the day.

 

The beauty of sunrise and sunset – “golden hour”.

Twlight, Dawn and Dusk

 

Twilight. dawn and dusk is that half hour before sunrise, or after sunset. It is a beautiful time of the day and the light is magical. The sky is still bright and no direct sunlight. The colours of the sky are warm and reddish and also a cool blue, or purple. This combination of colours can produce wonderful soft and multicoloured light that can produce a calm and peaceful mood to any subject, or image.

 

The above images show the beauty and light of the colours at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day.

Shade and Overcast Sunlight.

Photographers spend a vast amount of time looking for the perfect light and try, well I do, to avoid shadow. Many images we see online are devoted to light, but shadow and light can create some really beautiful images whether it is landscape, seascape, or even a manmade feature.

Shadows can create a flat image when reflected of a face, arm, or even in the natural world, but when shadows are subtle and catches a certain object, such as human face it can create sense of shape, or a beam of light through a narrow corridor leaving much of its shadow can almost look three-dimensional. Shadows can almost bring an object to life.

The tree above doubles in size and the branches look like long fingers reaching out towards the photographer. I like trees and shadows, as they   create some really interesting images and have a beauty of their own whether it is a black and white , or colour image.

The bottom photograph is a beautiful silhouette of the a women’s face and the shadows of the lace from her hat cover her neck and face like one huge lace blanket. It is beautiful and the detail of the lace created from the light and shadows  is pure magic and creates its own sense of beauty. I love the way the light falls upon her face and neck and especially around the eyes and  lashes .

We all like taking photographs when it is warm, or even cold and when the sun is out, but when it is cloudy it  does not have the same appeal. Proper attention to the technical details, such as ISO, exposure and RAW all become important. Lack of sun and shadows means that people and the foreground can be lost in flat and grey.

Well by looking at the two images above the overcast cloudy sky actually brings a sense of beauty and a subtle colour to the photographs.

Image 1 is dramatic and the cloud even enhances the landscape and the light reflected on the platoon is beautiful and simmer’s with wet light. The figure in the background stands out in the centre and intensity of the blue coat shines through. Even the Seagull stands out too.

Image 2 is also beautiful. The colours of the landscape may not have the vibrancy of a summer’s day, or even the golden colours of autumn and crispness of winter and cool fresh colours of spring, but the colours in this photograph work. .  The landscape does look flat and so does the colours too, but the light is subtle and that complements the surrounding scene and brings out the different hues of grey in the layers of clouds thus creating a sense of drama to the photograph.

So the conclusion is that Overcast Sunlight and Shadows can create beautiful photography.

All images in this section were taken from bing.com/ images.

Information taken from online – Cambridge in Colour A Learning Community for Photographers- Natural Light In Photography.

Part Three. Project Three “What matters is to look”. February, 2017.

Part Three. Project Three “What matters is to look”. February, 2017.

Research point.

I viewed Raphael O’ Bryne’s  film/ interview  “L’amour de court” over five parts. Parts four and five were muted, because  I believe due to copyright issue. You can hear Henri Cartier-Bresson’s voice in parts one to three. I watched the film/ interview a few times and see below my personal response.

We meet HCB when he is in his nineties and reminiscing and at times rambling about his long, eventful life. I got the impression it had been a hard life in places and life of adventures too. He comes across as a man who at times is vacant and his memory is failing, which is not surprising at the age of ninety. He is quite emotional in places especially with Gandhi’s assassination. I think when someone of his calibre  and travelling the world  due to his art is expected to be emotional  knowing that he can never repeat it and go back.

HCB is mainly known for work in photography, Assouline ( 2005) prodimatly sees HGB as  an artist and only used his camera to express himself for a period of time. O’ Bryne ( part three ) HGB mentions that he has not taken a photograph for a long period of time and does prefers to draw. This may be because he finds more inspiration in drawing in later years.

In part one and two  HCB expresses his views on photography.

” Most of them don’t look. They press the button” ( part one ).

I interpreted  this quote as HCB saying some photographers take an image without thinking how they should view and go about composing the image before they press the button.

” It’s always luck. It’s luck that matters… You have to be receptive, that’s all.. Like the relationship between things, it’s a matter of chance. If you want it you get nothing. Just be receptive and it happens” ( part two).

I agree with this quotation, as photography is luck and being receptive to what is a round you and your environment . I also can relate  to this comment, as the more I want that perfect scene, I do not always get it. So being receptive, sensitive to your subject and surrounding you will achieve that perfect image.

HCB  observation over time had become refined and you can see this in one particular photograph of children in a covered square . In part two we hear from a third-party description  Yves Bonnefoy I think, that the narrator had not noticed the children, but HCB had and taken the photograph without even stopping and always observing.

In parts four and five we see how he was influenced by his travels to the Far East even though a seasoned traveller and spent time in the US and being the first western photographer to  take photographs in the Soviet Union ( Wikipedia). He was also influenced by Buddhism  and we see this when he fades into the background at a Japanese actors funeral and his sensitivity in catching the emotions of the mourners while they grieve. I found this part quite moving.

Overall a fascinating, moving insight into Henri Cartier- Bresson’s life.

Source of information:  Wikipedia – Henri Cartier- Bresson.

 

Re- write of Assignment three. February,2017.

 

“The decisive moment”.

Introduction.

This is a rewrite of my assignment three. I felt my first attempt was not as I wished it to be and my first eight images did not meet the brief. There was not enough “decisive moments” and lacked the key points and even participants.

My new subject and location.

My new subject this time is not a landscape, as before, but a building and it’s inhabitants . The building is the Spinnaker Tower and location is Portsmouth, Hampshire.

It is a large towering structure representing a large sail, or Spinnaker. The Spinnaker Tower stands on the waterfront overlooking Portsmouth Harbour and set within a large shopping and entertainment complex. Within the building there is a large viewing platform reached by an elevator  and you can see a 360 degree view of Portsmouth, Hampshire Countryside and Isle of Wight. Portsmouth is a maritime city and there are lots going on.

From the main viewing deck the views are stunning. There are two viewing decks, but the larger of the two has the best views and is indoors . We  visited the tower in the afternoon and being a winter’s afternoon the light was against me, but being a sunny day was a bonus. It was also half term, so it was pretty busy and lots of excited children.

The workings behind the images and process.

Firstly  I thought how do I go about capturing a “decisive moment”  I have been asking myself this question since starting this assignment. It is not something I consciously do everyday and thought how should I approach the subject.  I contemplated on what would be the ideal spot and taking into account everything I have read up about  this subject and looking at images that have captured that “decisive moment”. I studied Henri Cartier- Bresson’s images and looked at how he approached his subjects and the final image.  We were planning to go to the Spinnaker Tower and the location was ideal for what I wanted to achieve. So I set about taking my photographs.

Now I find people watching interesting, but the spontaneity of the actions of children can create some wonderful moments and “decisive moments ” too. Children have enthusiasm for life and sense of fun and life is an adventure. Children are natural and their sense of excitement and interactions between each other are funny to  watch, but I was though aware that I had to seek permission from the parents before I went about taking photographs and the parents of the children concerned were quite happy for me to take my photographs.

The setting.

The light in the building was perfect, but there is a slight tint of blue, as the windows are tinted to keep out the glare of the sun and heat in the summer . I also took the photographs, as the sun was slowly setting and being winter the light was not to harsh, as it tends to be in the summer months.On this occasion it was crisp and clear . The light reflecting off the glass was perfect too and created some wonderful reflections and colours, which contributed to the images below.

Not all of the images are of children, but my last two are of Andy and the harbour below and the meeting of two ferries. The remaining images are taken in one area of the tower and that is a glass floor that gives the visitor views of the street below and is very popular, especially with children and people who do not suffer with vertigo. I have walked this glass floor on many occasion.

Image 1: This little girls enthusiasm struck me and she was such a happy child and her  dancing across the glass floor made me smile and a showing no fear of heights “decisive moment” for me.

Image 2:  Here she is again and still smiling and dancing. Yet again her happiness and excitement is a “decisive moment” in this image.

Image 4: There is two children in this image . The little girl and a boy. I felt I was intruding on a private conversation with my lens and this was a “decisive moment” for me.

Image 4. Now the focus of this image is not the little girl, but the lady with her back to  me. She had told me prior to me taking the photograph, that she was plucking up courage to walk across the glass floor and eventually she did and that is my “decisive moment” in this image.

 

Image 5. I especially like this image and the little girl is joined by the boy  and another little girl. They all look relaxed and pre-occupied with their gadgets and sitting on a glass floor that is  hundreds of feet in the air and quite oblivious to it all and that is a “decisive moment”

Image 6.  Andy gazing at the view and just stealing a moment to watch the sun go down is a “moment in time”. This is my “decisive moment”.

Image 7. In this image I have left the interior of the building and focused on the view and the Gosport to Portsmouth ferries as they pass each other. This is repeated everyday hundreds of times a day, but just witnessing the scene is my “decisive moment”.

 

Technical Stuff:

Focal length of images range from 3.58mm- 7.07mm

ISO – all images 100- 400

Max aperture – f/2.8 – f/3.6

Exposure time – 1/60 sec – 1/200 sec.

Conclusion:

Where do I start? Well I choose the environment because of the crowds, light and atmosphere. The views were perfect and the location fitted the brief . Children especially can create those “decisive moments” without having to think about it. I not saying that adults cannot create ” decisive moments”, but children are spontaneous and natural and I focused on a certain little girl, as she radiated happiness, excitement and enthusiasm. The other three images are just moments that caught my eye and that “decisive moment” captured within  a click of a button.

Source of information: Inspiration from Henri Cartier- Bresson.

How to master “The Decisive Moment”- Eric Kim.

Magmun Photographs.

 

Assignment Three. The decisive moment. January, 2017. Updated January,2017.

Re- write of Assignment three. February,2017.

What is a decisive moment.

It was Henri Cartier- Bressan who first to pioneer the “Decisive Moment” He was a street photographer and believed that the decisive moment was a spilt second of genius and inspiration to capture the certain moment of a couple sneaking a kiss, or a man jumping over a puddle and the wind catching  some ones umbrella.  In the landscape it could be the beam of light shinning through the clouds, even if it is for a spilt second. The call of a seagull, or just  even a fleeting call of a Curlew.

The moment is fleeting and within a second that moment has gone and the photographer has only a second to capture that moment before it has gone forever.

The following images are my ” Decisive Moment” and the notes explaining how I went about taking my images and the introduction to the landscape that sets the scene. Also the technical stuff too.

My Assignment three.

Introduction:

I studied the brief and thought ” well how I am going to go about this” . I am keen on keen on landscape photography and spend my time walking with my partner around the countryside.

My subject for this assignment was taken on the South Coast about one and half miles from Milford-on -Sea, Hampshire. The whole is a nature reserve and made up of one huge shingle spit, with water on both sides. The spit itself stretches out to a fort called Hurst Castle, which was built by Henry V111. You can see the Isle of Wight from this spot too. The whole area is very popular and a very beautiful spot.

The photographs were taken on a very cold day earlier this month and it was late afternoon and the sun was low in the sky. We often come walking here with friends and the main characters in these photographs are friends, except the couple with the dog. You can see that the day was cold, but that does not deter the keen walker.

The way I worked towards capturing these images:

What is a “decisive moment”?

Henri Cartier- Bresson was street photographer and was the founding father of this genre.

The meaning behind this statement is that sometimes a photograph is taken at such a perfect moment that it feels that no other point in time could express the essence of the event so perfectly. Henri Cartier- Bresson.

I decided to use this particular scene and the time of day, because there is nothing as beautiful as a sunset, or even a sunrise over water. The reflection and light can be very intense in this kind of landscape. Shadows can be created, as the sunlight is reflected in the water and for a brief period the sky can have the appearance of “being on fire” and also the period before and after sunset, there is a purple-blue hue in the sky. In winter this can be more intense, due to the fact that the air is cold, crisp and clean, unlike that in the summer where the light is more intense and more dust particles in the atmosphere. I do prefer a seascapes a landscape, as the light and weather can be more dramatic and changeable.

I purpose;y focused on having one, or more individual’s within the photographs and concentrated on how they interacted with their surroundings. In some of the images you cannot actually see the person, or person’s faces, but only their silhouette against the light. I coud have just concentrated on the seascape itself and the sunset, but decided to involve a few humans and their canine friends. Makes a more interesting photograph.

My images and their “decisive moments” and the technical details too:

All photographs were taken on a manual settings using a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ72.

Image 1: Man and camera.  3.58mm. ISO 160. 1/320 sec. f/2.8.

This image shows the last few minutes before sunset and the kaleidoscope of colours that make up the sky before sunset. The man in the image is Paul a friend of mine. The  “decisive moment” here is me taking a photograph of him, taking a photograph. Also the beautiful twilight glow on the water and also the reflection of the boats on the water to.

Image 2: Couple with dog. 3.58mm ISO 160. 1/320 sec. f/2.8.

This image to me spells …. cold. The entire appearance of the couple is cold and wrapped against the wind. The lady was smiling at me and that was the “decisive moment”  when I caught her eye. The man is looking down. The dogs though seem happy just to be out.

Image 3: Golden beach. 3.58mm. ISO-160. 1/640 SEC. f/2.8.

This is the golden glow before sunset and the reflection on the beach. That is a ” decisive moment” Also the people higher up the beach and their silhouettes against the sky. There is also a little dog running towards me.

Image 4: The little black dog. 3.58mm ISO 160. 1/500 sec. f/2.8.

This image is very the same as image three, but we can now see the dog. I think  the “decisive moment” here is that little lone dog running towards me and his shadow etched in the stones.

Image 5: The huddled group. 3.58mm. ISO 160. 1/640 sec. f/2.8.

The little group huddled up are friends. Paul. Nina and son Robert. There is not a lot going on in this image, but that small huddled group against the evening glow, so this is my  “decisive moment”. I am not sure what they are looking at.

Image 6: The ever fading light.  3.58mm. ISO 160. 1/1000 sec. f/2.8.

In this image the light is fading and we have four individuals . My partner Andy and friends. You cannot see their faces. The “decisive moment” for me is the tunnel of light on the sea and Robert’s silhouette.

Image 7: Sunset (1) 3.58mm. ISO 160. 1/2000 sec. f/3.5.

The two figures silhouetted against the sea and the disappearing glow of the sun and arch of light. That is the ” decisive moment” in this image. Also the rippling beam of light reflected on the water.

Image 8: Sunset (2). 3.58mm. ISO 160. 1/1600 sec. f/4.0.

The two  little insignificant figures against the setting sun and immense landscape of water just shows us how small we are in the nature of things. The colours of the sky, as also seen in image seven. The”desicive moment” here is the beauty of the entire scene.

Conclusion:

I had to think about this assignment and tussle with what images would suit the subject of a landscape, well seascape in this instance. I decided on a beach, winter and sunset theme, as they can create  so many “decisive moments”. The cold and sometimes bleakness of winter. The colours and dramatic sunsets. They all capture those moments. Then add a few humans and their canine friends and the “decisive moments” are there for the taking.

My views on my tutors feedback:

I have yet to receive my feedback and will comment here when I do.

I have my feedback from my tutor and mixed reaction on the assignment three

Feedback back from Tutor.

Feedback from tutor was mixed . Good attempt. I felt that I did not do as well on this assignment and should have done a lot better. I have taken note of my tutors comments and will act upon it. I am going to attempt assignment three again and with a set of new images. The images were taken yesterday in Portsmouth and taken from the Spinnaker Tower.

The original  images used in the first assignment three were probably not the images that I should have used and thinking about it there was not really a lot going on and the “decisive moments” do not stand out.

Here are the whole collection of the images taken for assignment three.

 

The following images were also being considered for assignment three, but were not used.

These images were taken at a place called Blashford Lakes in Hampshire. This a lovely nature reserve and part of one the Hampshire Wildlife Reserves.

It was very cold day as you can see on the lake and this was not long before sunset and the ice had been on the lake all day.

I decided not to use these images, as they didn’t seem have the criteria, I believed at the time,  not suitable for this particular assignment. Maybe I was wrong?

3.59mm. ISO- 200. 1/125 sec. f/4.0.

7.37mm. ISO 200. 1/125sec.f/4.0.

3.58mm. ISO 200. 1/125 sec. f/4.0.

3.58mm. ISO 200, 1/125 SEC.F/4.0.

3.58 mm. ISO 200. 1/125 sec. f/4.0.

3.58mm. ISO 200. 1/80 sec. f/3.5.

 

Other images.

This series of images were taken earlier this month at place called Mottisfont Abbey and is a National Trust property. This building is the gift shop and the shop was about to shut and hence the lady at the door. I also decided not use these images, as I felt at the time not much was really going on people wise.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/15 sec. f/3.5.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/125 sec. f/3.5.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/15 sec. f/3.5.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/15 sec. f/3.5.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/15 sec.f/3.5.

3.58mm. ISO 100. 1/15 sec. f/3.5.

 

Further research for assignment three.

Henri Cartier Bresson- brief history.

The founder of the medium called the “Decisive Moment” Henri was born in Chanteloup-en-brie, Seine-et- Marne, France and the oldest of five children. He was introduced to Oil painting by his uncle who was then killed in the WWI. He attended the Lhote Academy in 1927. He first started taking photographs with his Box Brownie when he was a child.

He became interested in the Surrealist Movement, which was founded in the 1924. The Surrealist  photographers obtained a lot of their inspiration from Aragon and Breton who approached the streets with enthusiasm for the usual and unusual. Surrealist photography concentrates on plain photography and a photograph that shows realism and ordinary images of people doing ordinary and practical things and also unpredictable things too. The people in his images below are not famous, but caught Henri Cartier Beeson eye.

Throughout his career he took photographs throughout the world in places such as, Africa, US and Europe. He did not though photograph much in his place of birth and it was much later in life he would extensively take photographs in France.

When he returned to France he took up filmmaking and applied for a job with well-known director Jean Renoir.Renoir made  Henri act in front of the camera, as a way to make him see what it was like to be on the other side of the camera. He helped Renior make many Communist films and even made a film  of his own called ” Who Ran France”. He even directed an anti fascist  film with Herbert Kline to promote Republican Medical Services.

He then turned his attention to photojournalism and in 1937 he took photographs of the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for a French weekly called Regards.He focused on the streets and the adoring royal fans lining the route, but took no photographs of the King and his photo credit read Cartier. He did not want to use his full family name.

During WWII wa captured by the German and spent time in a Prisoner of War Camp for 35 months doing hard labour. He escaped on his their attempt and returned to France where he worked with the underground helping people escape and taking photographs of the occupation.

After the war he co-founded Magnum Photos with Robert Capa, David Seymour,William Vandevilt and George Rodger. It was Capa’s brainchild and co-operative picture agency owned by its members.He also gained world recognition for his photos of Gandhi’s funeral in 1947. He was assigned to China and India with Magnum and covered many events including Maoists China.

His book the Decisive Moment was published in 1952 and included 126 photographs from the west and east. In his later years he took many images in China, mEXICO, Canada and the US, India, Japan and Soviet Union and was the first Western photographer to be allowed to be allowed into post war Soviet Union. He died in 2004 and is one of the worlds most influential photographer and created the term “Decisive Moment in Photography”.

 

The images below were taken by Henri Cartier Bresson on the Coronation of George VI and Queen Elizabeth ( Queen Mother) in 1937.

 

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. England. London. Trafalgar Square. King George VI’ funeral. 1952.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GREAT BRITAIN. England. London. 12 May 1937. Waiting in Trafalgar Square for the coronation parade of King George VI.

FRANCE. Versailles. King George VI’s royal visit. 1938.

GREAT BRITAIN. London. Coronation of King George VI. 12 May 1937. “People had waited all night in Trafalgar Square in order not to miss any part of the coronation ceremony of George VI. Some slept on benches and others on newspapers. The next morning, one who was wearier than the others, had not yet wakened to see the ceremony for which he had kept such a late vigil.”

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

GB. London. Coronation of George VI. 12th May, 1937.

 

I like these images as they are images of a bygone era. We have seen many Royal Weddings in this country. The Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was a Coronation that was  not really meant to happen, but for the abdication of his brother Edward. The crowds in places look sombre and the black and white images make some of the onlookers look drab and the evidence of people being poor is in more evidence, than it is today. The images are from a different time and the attire of some of the onlookers look like they have stepped out of 19th C and late Victorian period.

You can see the differences in the time of change too from that period to today. The Royal Weddings of today are more cosmopolitan and evidence of more visitors from abroad. People then were dressed in their Sunday best and clothes look heavy, where as today clothes are light, colourful and people look more affluent. Also which is more in evidence to is the advances in modern technology. Everyone today has a camera and mobile phone and the means to record an important event. Where as back in 1937 very few people would have even owned a camera. So a lot of our recorded history came from newsreels and professional photographers. Also crowds today are smiling and happier when ever you see a royal event compared to some of the images above.  The images above are what Henri Cartier – Bresson would of called a ” decisive moment”.

More of Henri Cartier- Bresson images.

FRANCE. Paris. 1989.

 

The images above are a combination of Henri Cartier- Bressons times in various countries from Europe, Africa to China. The most striking image for me is the girl standing in front of the soldiers and guns holding a flower( image 7). This image is very reminiscent of the turbulent times in the late 60s and early 70s. Where the old order was giving way to the modern world. This is also seen in ( image 2). Also ( image 5) is very poignant and looks as if a young girl is being brought to justice because of her wartime activities during WWII.

The images showing the children in Africa are lovely and even if these children live in poverty they are smiling and look happy ( images 10 and 11 ). I also like the two little Chinese boys and the two dogs eyeing each other up (image 4).

The remaining images are just periods of history taken in a brief moment between a couple in love ( image 3) to a little girl chasing the pigeons ( image 8). The other images also show just brief moments of a photographic image.

Sources of information:

Wikipedia and Henri Cartier- Bressons images taken from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation.