Component 1 - final piece

Component One - Final piece

For my component one final piece, I decided to look over all of my previous work, to decide what I felt worked the best technique wise. I have always enjoyed creating double exposures, so I felt that this would be a good route to go down in terms of a final piece. 

Final images

Above are the four final images which I will be using for my two final double exposures. Once again I will be incorporating the topic of man and nature by using images from both of the topics. I have also made sure that both images are contrasting in colour (bright and dull).

When I started to create both of my final pieces, I first had to ensure that neither image was a large amount bigger than the other. Luckily this did not pose a problem when it came to my work.

I then brought both images onto to the same document, so they were overlaying. 

The opacity of layer 1 was then changed so that both images could be seen (one more faintly than the other), which created the image shown above.

Then to distort the colour od my photographs to get the purple and yellow tinges, I altered the colour levels withing the photograph layers individually. I felt that this made the piece more abstract, modern and also much more interesting to look at from the viewers eye. Although this was a simple techique to carry out, it took time ensureing the colour levels were correct, and gave the effect that I wanted.

Final results

These are the final results which I achieved with the technique. I do like the initial look of both of the pieces, but at a first glance I wonder if people will be able to see both images clearly straight away. This would be something I would work on if i was to re-try the technique.

Pinhole Camera

Pinhole Camera Experimentation

I came across an interesting artist when researching my topic who produced some striking landscape images in black and white. Upon further research I realised that these photographs were taken using a pinhole camera and thought that it may be an opportunity to explore this style of photography a little more.  Perhaps the most versatile of all non-camera techniques, pinhole photography has been in existence for the longest time. In fact, it was one of the earliest forms of photography, and modern photography finds its origins from it.

Paul Debois is a multi award-winning photographer. He was a category winner in Kew Gardens’ 2004 Garden Writers annual competition and in 2008 he took two prizes in the International Garden Photographer of the Year for a portfolio of images called Pinhole Impressions. The above image was taken by Debois shows a very distinct style. The image is almost blurred which gives it a dreamy feel. Debois states: "the style did not evolve overnight, several test rolls of film were needed". I thought that perseverance may be necessary with this technique but was willing to give it a try and hopefully my experiments would pay off.

The above image taken by Paul Debois, caught my eye and I liked the very simple composition of the image. The clouds frame the image really well and give the shot a dramatic feel.  They draw the eye to a central focus point and ensure that the tree is the main subject of the photograph.  I liked the soft feel that is provided by the pinhole technique and thought that the effect was very interesting.

The basic concept behind a pinhole camera is to use a light-tight box, within which the picture will be made, even as light passes through a pinhole. It is important that the pinhole on the camera is extremely small and precise in order to get a perfectly sharp image. Failing to do so can result in light leaks or blurred pictures. I think A bit of trial and error will be needed to get perfect exposures, but hopefully using such a tiny aperture will mean that the depth-of-field with the pinhole camera will be interesting and produce some different images.

My Images

Unfortunately my experimentation using pinhole photography was completely unsuccessful.

All the images which I developed were either completely black or with a small circle of light displayed and no detail could be seen on any of the photographs taken of my subjects.

Above is an example of a developed 'black' image which was a complete disappointment.  I think that all my images were dark due to fact that either I had a very large light leak in the camera and I had not ensured all light was blocked from entering or when I initially loaded the film into the camera, light was present so the film was spoiled before I even began. 

The above image is the only photograph which had anything displayed on it at all.  This image could possibly have been either from the very beginning of the film reel or the final image of the spool.  The pinpoint of light is not central to the image which I found perplexing as the shutter and pinhole was created at the very centre of my camera.  Although my images were not successful, I will endeavor to learn from my first delve into the world of pinhole photography and strive to improve both technique and built quality of my equipment to hopefully obtain some more pleasing results next time.

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Style - Twilight Saga Opening Titles

Style - The Twilight Saga
Opening Titles

Within this project I will be emulating the style of a movie sequence.  Drawing from my Artist research into Ellie Davies, I have selected the The Twilight Saga as my movie of choice as the opening titles in this film also portray an almost surreal take on landscape photography. I will try to recreate the movies style within my own photographs and also incorporating my theme into my images.


Style Research

 Within the movie's opening sequence the director has selected a clearly edited image as the background for the films title page. I think that the photograph has been enhanced in order to create impact and appeal. The striking blood red sky with the atmospheric moon certainly grabs attention and I love the strong use of colour in this image.  The selection of red fits perfectly with the movies theme of vampires and blood giving the viewer no doubt as to the genre of the film.  The hills are almost silhouettes against this strong sky and I think that this is extremely effective and memorable.  I like the overall composition of the shot and the balance between the hills and the sky with the sweeping horizon placed just off centre draws our attention to the title of the film.  I will experiment with silhouettes and hope to photograph some of my own sunsets in order to explore this visual technique further.

This is the first area of the opening titles which is directed towards both man and nature fitting completely with my theme.  I loved this unusual imagery which at first the viewer believes is blood, however, upon closer inspection is actually images of leaf cells. This particular clip shows the freezing and disappearance of the red areas. The clips try and mainly focus on the difference between living and dead cells.   

The second image from the title sequence shows a more clear demonstration of where the leaf cells and skin cells meet once again.  I loved this visual macro image and found the veins very dramatic. The lines within the skin cells provided great interest within the image and the colour again fitted very well with the theme of the movie.  Using this image as inspiration, I decided to try and take my own Macro images and keeping with the them of blood and cells, decided to look at anatomy to emulate a similar shot.



My Own Photographs

 

My first image emulates the title page of Breaking Dawn and it's strong use of silhouette and colour.  I enjoyed photographing sunsets and was lucky enough to view several beautiful skies from home during December when the weather turned colder.  I loved this beautiful multi coloured shy which had ribbons of purple, orange and pink running though it.  The dying tree created the perfect centre to my frame and I liked how it was a direct contrast to the living trees adjacent which were still in leaf. I experimented with composition when taking this photo and began with the striking tree to the left of my frame, however, as the shape was so strong, I decided to place this as the focal point of my photograph which I think worked well.

My second photograph taken with inspiration from the opening credits is slightly;y different in style.  This time, as the moon was visible, I decided to try and capture this within the frame and although, it is not as bold as in the Breaking Dawn titles, I still feel it's inclusion in the image gives added interest to the crystal clear blue sky.  Unfortunately, due to a little camera wobble, I was unable to gain a clear crescent, so perhaps in future I could look to using a tripod to enhance my photograph. 

My final image is taken using a macro lens of a dissected chicken heart and was photographed whilst I experimented with photographing anatomy.  I began by looking at the skeletal form as I thought that this would produce good visual shapes, and then took inspiration from a demonstration model of the heart which I photographed, moving on to a real organ. I found the veins and chambers within the chicken heart gave the image interest and keeping the colours rich within the photo allowed the overall final image to be highly dramatic.  I made sure the photo was well lit as this allowed areas of the photograph to be highlighted with little white pools of light which again I found quite pleasing.



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