The City- Final three images

Three Images

For my final three images for 'The City' project, I photographed areas around a urban town. I wanted to capture modernisation of the city, so I chose to photograph tall buildings to symbolise the growth of the city and how its always growing. I also wanted to capture repetition in windows and symmetry in buildings to represent the structure of the city. When I took these photo's I used Ilford Black and white ISO 100 film, I did this to soften the way the city looks and to make everything appear very equal. 

Close up of black window
For the first test strip I set the enlarger's aperture at F8 and set the filter grade at two. I then exposed each section of the test strip for five seconds.

I made another test strip as I felt the first one was far too dark so for this one  I decreased the size of the aperture on the enlarger. I changed the aperture to F22 so the image will be more brighter. I used a grade two filter and exposed each section of the strip for five seconds. 

For the next test strip I kept the aperture at F22 to make the image more brighter. I exposed the whole of the test strip for fifty seconds, I choose this exposure from looking at the test strip I made before. I decided to keep the grade two filter to add some contrast.

I felt that the last test strip was too dark so I decreased the exposure time by five seconds, so it was a 45 second exposure.

I still felt that the picture was too dark so I decreased the exposure by five seconds again, so it was a forty second exposure instead. Too add contrast to the image I  added a second exposure of five seconds with a grade four filter.

The test strip was still too dark so I decreased the exposure again so it was thirty five seconds. I still kept the second exposure of five seconds with a grade four filter to add contrast.

Next I made a final print, with the same printing times as above. However when it was printed I noticed there was a mark at the bottom of the print so I decided to print it again.

This is my final print I used a grade two filter with an exposure time of thirty five seconds with the enlargers aperture set at F22. I also did another exposure of five seconds with a grade four filter too add contrast. Even though this image was taken at night it has a softness to it.

Building and car park

For this test strip I exposed each of the sections for five seconds. First I set the aperture on the enlarger to F22 and used a grade two filter too add a slight contrast to the image.

From the first test strip I choose a thirty second exposure, and still kept the grade two filter. I then added another exposure of five seconds with a grade five filter too add contrast to the image.

g2 f22 30s
g5 10secs
I still kept the same first thirty second exposure but for the second exposure with the grade five filter I increased the exposure time to ten seconds to add even more contrast.

For my final image I kept the enlarger's aperture at F22 and then used a grade two filter for thirty seconds. I then added another exposure with a grade five filter for thirteen seconds, I decided to increase the grade five filtered exposure by three seconds to add even more contrast to the image.   

Close up of illuminated windows

With this test strip I set the enlargers aperture to F16. I then used a grade two filter and exposed each section of the image for five seconds.

I decided to change the apertures enlarger to F22 to make the image more brighter. From the first test strip I decided to expose the whole of the image for thirty seconds using a grade two filter.

For this test strip I kept the same exposure as the previous test strip but I increased the exposure time by five seconds to darken the image slightly. I then decided to add a second exposure for five seconds with a grade four filter to add contrast to the image.

For my final print of this negative I used a grade two filter for thirty five seconds with the enlargers aperture set at F22. With the second exposure for five seconds I increased the grade of the filter by one to grade five to add more contrast.

Tall building against night sky

I deicded to print this negative as I liked the building that is pictured as I felt it would represent modernisation of the city. However once I began to print it I felt the image was too dark and didn't have enough tonal range in it. 

For the first strip I set the enlargers aperture at F22, I then chose a grade 2 filter and exposed each section of the test strip for 5 seconds.

I decided to use a twenty five second exposure for this test strip by looking at the previous one I made. I felt the first test strip looks very flat so I decided to add a grade five filter to add more contrast, I exposed the paper for five seconds using the grade five filter.

With the final test strip I made I kept the first exposure as the same, but with the second exposure I tried a grade three filter instead of a grade five as I felt the image was far too dark. After I made this test strip I realised how dark the negative was so I didn't make a final print of it.

The City- Book Research

Picturing Modernism
From the library I rented a book out called 'Picturing Modernism, Moholy-Nagy and Photography in Weimar Germany' by Eleanor M Hights. The book focuses on modernist photography that have been an important contribution to art in the twentieth century by the photographer Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. It also looks at something called the 'New Vision' and how the modern world is explored. Moholy believed that art should 'heighten our awareness of the ever-changing present' this is represented in his photographs of buildings as he captures the modernity of them. I found Moholy's work to be very interesting with how he uses dramatic angles to capture modern architecture.

I scanned some images from the book to analyse for inspiration as they all capture modernisation in the city which is what I want to capture in my own photographs. In this image Moholy has emphasised the scale of the building by using a low camera angle as it makes you look up at it because it towers over you.
By composing the image this way Moholy has made the tallest building the main focal point because of the way it is centred in the picture and framed by the other buildings as it is in the middle of them.

In the two  pictures below the camera angle Moholy has used captures the size of the buildings. By using a low camera angle makes you look up towards the building which represents the way the city is growing and expanding. Moholy has used dramatic camera angles that makes the photographs appear very modern  and new as it gives a different look at buildings. The repetition of the windows adds a formal view to the pictures because it represents structure, they also draw your eye upwards towards the top of the building which emphasises the scale of them.

The Body- Lighting Test Shots

Digital Lighting test shots

My lighting idea for my portrait for 'The Body' project is too capture a soft and delicate feel. I'm going to use the same set up in this lighting diagram I made previously but for the test shots I'm going to use a digital camera. I decided to use a digital camera for the test images so I can easily see the results of the lights and how I need to change them to improve the image.

This is the lighting set up I used for the test shots:

The lighting set up included:

- A boom arm with a broncolor covered by a 'lantern' with rolled up curtains

- White background

- 4 polyboards

- Two broncolors with spill kills

The camera setting's on the digital camera were IS0 100 and the shutter speed was 125th of a second. The aperture on the camera was F8 whereas the aperture of the light from the key light was F11 and the background was F5.6. I had to make sure the aperture of the light hitting the background was two stops darker compared to the light hitting the model.

For the first picture I felt the background was too bright and the lighting was too harsh which didn't give the photo the soft feel I wanted it to have.

I decreased the lighting that hits the background to give it a more grey colour tone to it so it isn't as bright  I felt the lighting was too harsh on one side of the subjects face which cast shadows on the opposite side.

I moved the lantern light on the book arm slightly higher so it was directly above the models head, however this created shadows underneath the models chin.

In the previous pictures I felt that the lighting was too harsh so I added some diffusion material to soften the light so it looks more even in the picture. I also rolled up the curtains on the lantern attached to the boom arm to make the lighting appear even and soft as it spreads the light out more.

For the final image I lowered the boom arm slightly to soften the shadows under the subjects chin to make the photo appear more softer. I'm pleased with the lighting effect I created for this image as it has a softness to it and a delicate feel as there is no harsh shadows. I'm going to use this lighting set up as my final photo because of how even the lighting is.

The Body- Final Idea

My Final Idea

My final idea for 'The Body' project is to create a very natural portrait, I want the image to appear very honest so I'm going to use soft lighting to emphasise the natural theme of the portrait. I asked a student at UCA on the Fashion Atelier course if I could take there photo's, the model I choose has very natural look as she has curly natural hair. My main inspiration came from portrait photographers who capture there subjects in a very intimate way such as Paolo Roversi and Richard Avedon, in portraits by these photographers they mainly focus on the eyes. By having the subject gaze into the camera creates an intimate feel, I was inspired but this so I'm going to have my model look directly into the camera. I feel that eye's can tell a lot about how a person is feeling, the quote 'eyes are the window to the soul' inspired me for my portrait so I began to research into photographers that focus on eyes in there portraits.
I came across photographers such as Jeanloup Sieff and Henrick Adamsen as in  there portraits they focus on the eyes, they mainly do this by composing the image so the eye is centred in the frame, I found this technique effect so I'm going to use it in my own portraits. To create a soft feel in my image I've decided to use a Black and white film with ISO 400 so the portraits will be low in contrast.






Lighting idea

My idea for the lighting in my portrait is very soft and delicate. My main inspiration for the lighting is photographer Paolo Roversi, I love the soft and romantic feel that is created by the lighting he has used. I like how the lighting is equal throughout the whole image which adds to the softness of the portrait.
To create a similar lighting effect I'm going to photograph the model against a white background lit by two broncolors with spill kills reflecting of four polyboards. The model is going to be lit by a broncolor with a lantern in it attached to a boom arm so I can place the light directly above the camera so its facing down on to the model. When I take the pictures I will have to make sure the background is two stops smaller then the light hitting the model, I will also make sure the subject is not to near the background so the light remains even and there is no harsh shadows.

This is a lighting plan I made for my portraits:

The City- Digital test shots for final idea

Digital test shots for final idea
Now that I have come up with my idea for my three images for 'The City' project I decided to take some digital test shot's. As my idea is to photograph tall buildings to symbolise how the city has modernised, I walked round the town where I lived to find buildings that could resemble this. I also looked for buildings that have lots of windows to symbolise the structure of the city. Once I found buildings that would represent modernisation I photographed them so I had a reference of what one's to use for my final images. Taking these images were good practice for me in shooting night photography, when I take my final images I know that I will need to use a tripod as I would have to use a long shutter speed so this will prevent camera shake. When I took these test photograph's I used a low camera angle as I want to use a low camera angle when I take my final pictures to emphasise the scale of the buildings. I did this so I could have a feel whether the buildings would represent the theme of the images.

I photographed the building above as it is very tall and would symbolise the way the city is growing and expanding. By using a low camera angle on this building will represent how the city is always modernising and always expanding upwards. I also photographed this buildings as I liked all of the windows and how they're symmetrical as they would help to represent how the city is being controlled. 

I decided on this building as I liked the scale of it as I feel it will represent modernisation well. I also liked how there was nothing distracting around it so you could just see the building against the dark sky. The symmetry of all the windows also symbolise the controlling of the city so I felt this building would be ideal.

I decided to photograph the building above as I liked the repetition of all the windows, I felt that they would represent the way the city is controlled well as there is so many of them. The lights illuminating from the windows would also represent modernisation and the darkened windows disrupt the repetition of the windows as if it showing the controlling of the city is being lost. I also felt that the scale of the building would emphasise the modernisation of the city. 

The City- My idea for three images

My Idea
My final idea for the three photographs for 'The City' project is still the same as my initial idea which is too capture the modernisation of urban areas at night time. The idea for capturing the city at night came from researching the photographer Brassai for the pastiche part of this project. Brassai's 'Paris by night' series captures the nocturnal side of the city, I became interested in creating a different view of the city too how it normally looks during the day and how people usually view it. I was inspired by the way Brassai uses light from, street lamps, shop signs and windows to illuminate the locations he has photographed as it represent modernity of the city. Photographer Robert Vizinni inspired me to capture tall buildings using a low camera angle to symbolise the modernisation of the city and how its always evolving. By looking up at a building emphasises the scale of it and will represent the way the city has grown and is constantly expanding. Another photographer who inspired me for this project is Ori Gersht, in his images of architecture he captures repetition and symmetry in the way he has composed his photo and with the buildings he has chosen. Gersht's images have a very formalistic feel because of the repetition which gives them a modern feel, to capture the same effect in my images I'm going to photograph buildings that have repetitive windows and look symmetrical. By photographing an urban environment in a formal way symbolises how controlled the city is and how it is very structured. To emphasise the formal feel I am going to use black and white film with ISO 400 to create a softness in the image so there is no harsh shadows. One of the main inspirations for this project is the photographer Michael Kenna who I looked at below:

Michael  Kenna

Michael Kenna is a night time photographer who is inspired by mans influence on the land. His black and white photographs of the city capture’s areas of the city that are usually overlooked as they are above street level. Kenna photographs familiar locations and subjects such as sky scrapers and the Eiffel Tower and makes them appear very intriguing and different . He photographs his subjects in a different way which transforms our view of the world, Michael Kenna uses different camera techniques such as camera angles and different lenses to do this. By using a low camera angle emphasises the scale of the buildings and makes you feel very vulnerable as a viewer because of how they tower over you. Kenna’s images have a very haunting feel because of how they make you feel insignificant in comparison to the buildings because of there height. He often photographs more then one building in the same picture which makes you feel as if you are trapped and as if you are there in the city between the towering buildings.

The City- Digital test shots

Digital test shots for night time photograph
For inspiration I took some digital photo's of a town for 'The City' project. I decided to take the images at night to practice night time photography for when I take my pastiche and my three images.
I focused on the built up areas of the town to show the modernisation of the city and so my pictures have an urban feel. From the test shot's I feel they do not represent modernisation as well as they could do, when I take my final images I will photograph taller buildings to symbolise the way the city is always growing and modernising to improve them. The artificial lighting from the shop windows helps to symbolise the modernisation theme as the electricity used represents a modern city, when I take my final images I am going to capture artificial lighting in my work to also symbolise this. In post production I changed all of the images to black and white as I will be using black and white film for all of my final images I did this as I wanted to see how the city would look in monochrome. I feel the black and white effect makes the images stand out because of the shadows and highlights and how they contrast with each other. From taking these test shots I decided I want to photograph the town where I live, for my final three images, as I have noticed how much it has modernised from first hand as I have lived there my whole life.