First Two Photographs

So yesterday I went out on location to photograph my first two images along the beachfront in Hartlepool near where the uni is.

We went out as a group of three and only had one double dark slide between us because people had taken too many out and there was not enough equipment left for anybody else.

Word of warning : changing the film in a double dark slide when you don't know exactly what you're doing (as you've only done it once before) is not something you would enjoy. I didn't.

I wanted to look at the beachfront because many people think of beaches and think of ice-cream shops and amusement's, Hartlepool is completely different as it is not a tourists beach destination.

Light Meter

Light Meters can be very useful tools for a photographer as a camera can not measure a studio flash as it is too quick for the camera to measure however the light meter is able to measure it.

They can also be used outside because the light meters have different modes:

ambient lighting
flash with cord
wireless flash

In this project we will be using them to measure the ambient light outside because the cameras do not have inbuilt light meters.


Incident and Reflective readings

There are two different ways of measuring the light: incident and reflective.

An incident light reading is taken of the light that falls directly onto the subject, this light meter reading is taken by using the lumisphere on the light meter and aiming the light meter towards the camera

Reflected readings are measuring the light that is reflected towards the camera and are taken by not using the lumisphere and aiming the light meter towards the subject.

Joe Brady Webinar

In this video Joe Brady talks about using a handheld light meter while out on location.

Location Scout Walk

So this morning our tutor took us on a walk around some of the local area in Hartlepool so that we could learn the area and get some ideas and inspiration from what we see.

We walked from our uni around to the marina and through the streets and local area and into town.

I took some photographs on the way around and decided that I would like to focus on the beach front but possibly try going to Seaton Carew to photograph the beach front along there or stay local and photograph around the marina beaches.

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* This is the area that I would like to start taking my images in.

Lewis Baltz

He photographs in Urban settings and takes the common every day sights like houses and walls and turns them into artistic photographs.

" Baltz's photo series document the side effects of industrial civilization on the landscape, focusing on places that lie outside the bounds of canonical reception: urban wastelands, abandoned industrial sites, warehouses. His photographs uncover the correspondences between spatial forms that occur in the everyday world and advanced forms found in art. " (found here)

Mike Seaborne

" London Landscapes is an ongoing project defined not by location or by subject- matter but by an attempt to find meaningful (to me) relationships in the urban chaos. It is therefore as much about my concerns as a picture-maker as it is about documenting London. " Here

Photographing in an area which you know or live in can help because it creates a personal meaning in the photographs however it can also mean that you choose to omit certain places and and only show the positive because many people do not want to admit they live in a bad neighbourhood.

Frank Gohlke

Another American photographer for the New Topographics he has photographed "A Man Altered Landscape" which shows the way that man has changed or built over the natural landscapes. I think showing the way the landscape has changed and has been reconstructed is a good way to document history, photographing the same location from different locations and viewpoints is a good way to open the mind and see the world differently.

Tips for Shooting Urban Landscapes

Capture the Vibe

Photographs should always tell a story whether positive or negative.

Get off the Beaten Track

Find somewhere that's less known as there are more hidden stories and photographs waiting to be found.

Photograph the Old and the New

Everywhere is changing and the contrast between both something that can be interesting to show.

Put a New spin on an Old Idea

Everybody wants something new and fresh so look for opportunities to show how you can stand out and be different.

Time of Day

The lighting used in photographs can dramatically alter the way the subject and background looks, go back and photograph the same place in different times of the day and see the effect the light has.

Colour

Although in this brief we are using black and white film I can also photograph in colour as the world is a colourful place.

Photography at Night

I don't only have to photograph during the day as I could take flashes or photograph from under street lights to capture a different atmosphere that people don't see during the day.

Create a Relationship between the People and the Background.

Often I don't like including people in landscape photographs because I feel it takes away from the landscape and turns it into a focus on the person, however this is not always the case as people can add an interesting focal point within the background.

( Information from Here and Here )

Setting up and Using the Camera

So after we were given an introduction to the camera and shown how to use it we were asked to set the camera up ourselves, at first this was quite difficult because I could not remember which levers controlled which thing but while using the camera for the first time I slowly started to understand it.

Setting the camera up is what takes the most time in the process of taking the photograph as there are many steps between taking the camera out of the camera bag and sliding the dark slide into the camera. I have found a video which explains this in more detail than I know about:




This video shows setting up a monorail camera however that type of camera is not the one I was setting up in the introduction. The field camera that I was using is lighter and smaller and will be easier for me to use throughout the project so hopefully I will be able to use this camera as there is only two in the store that needs to be shared between everybody.

Introduction to the camera

Tuesday

So this week we have been shown how to set up both the field and monorail 5x4 cameras, at first during the introduction I was quite confused by the amount of dials and levers that needed to be sorted and arranged before even attaching a lens and inserting the film.

For this demonstration we loaded one film into the double dark slide using a light tent bag and then we went outside to find an interesting Landscape to photograph.

Using the field camera me and a partner saw an interesting landscape over by the train station so we went and set up the camera and took a light metering and set the aperture and f-stop on the lens. Then I checked the focus and closed the lens so I could insert my dark slide and remove the cover so I could expose the film.

I also found this website online which goes into detail about how to load a double dark slide.

http://photo-otaku.com/loading-4x5-sheet-film-holders/

Wednesday

Today the film sheet is being developed and I am going to be creating a contact sheet and an enlargement as long as I have not gone wrong somewhere and not exposed an image.

I'm feeling quite nervous about finding out if everything went right or not.

Thursday

Well I got my photograph back, and it had failed, from what I can work out I've has light leak onto the film from somewhere however I am unsure where from.

Henry Wessel

Part of the "New Topographics" that started in the 70's, this group challenged the perspective of landscapes photographing urban scenes rather than picturesque fields and sunsets. They photograph in places that people see every day but will not stop and notice the hidden beauty in the shadows and light reflections.

I would like to try photographing the patterns and shadows that people walk past and the natural beauty that people do not see.

Robert Adams

He photographs in the west of America, documenting the changes in the landscape throughout the suburbs and local fields and highways. He creates a sense of intimacy in his photographs, making the viewer feel as though they are looking into his photographs yet remaining objective enough to photograph both positive and negative sides of the landscape. 

I want to be able to find the natural beauty in the local landscapes and show that Hartlepool can also be shown as a beautiful place rather than just an industrial town.

Kathleen Connally

A walk through Durham Township, Pennsylvania 

While looking at examples of portrait landscapes I found Kathleen Connally who is photographing her home area of Durham Township, Bucks County in Pennsylvania.

" I hope to intellectually and emotionally convey the intricacies and joys of rural living and the critical importance of farmland, open space and uncluttered horizons to our wildlife, our watersheds, our food supply, our health and our sense of well-being. " 

Landscape Photography

So in this project I am using a 5x4 film camera to shoot landscape's in and around Hartlepool.

In the brief it says that we are going to "use photography to survey the prosaic nature of the here and now"

The definition of prosaic is :

Having or using the style or diction of prose as opposed to poetry; lacking imaginativeness or originality

However I am not taking this as having to photograph 'boring' landscapes I am taking this as to mean that we don't have to follow the stereotypical landscape photography and we don't just have to photograph picturesque fields and sunsets and we can use urban landscapes and settings.

While having a conversation with a friend about not enjoying photographing landscapes he said "so turn them on their side and make them portraits" which gave me a good idea to shoot in portrait orientation instead of landscape.

I do not want to focus on wide angle views and I am thinking I may look at objects within the landscapes.

Evaluation

In this project I have tried to capture the natural innocence of children while they are playing. Where I live the street is always full of children running about and my series try's to show the different children who are there over the course of a day. My single image try's to convey the memory of seeing family and the connection between family members.

Major influences in my work have been Sally Mann and her book Immediate Family as she works with children, I have been influenced by her because she captures the children while playing and also poses them. Another influence has been Diane Arbus an her photograph 'crying child' as she captured the child naturally showing emotions.

In my opinion this project has not been successful because I struggled to find an idea to photograph as I did not understand the narrative could be something very simple and I over complicated my work by thinking too deeply.

I think my work could be improved by continuing to shoot because a few of the children felt and look awkward infront of the camera, I think this could be resolved by continuing to photograph them so that they become more relaxed. I am also going to work on keeping my ideas simple so that I can start photographing from as soon as I get the briefing for the project.

All of my images have been taken on a canon DSLR. I took a studio light home for a shoot and although I have not used any of the images using this lighting set up I enjoyed working in a natural setting with a flash. All of the images I have used for my final set have been taking natural lighting.

The only major problem I have encountered has been that I do not have confidence in my ability and I found that this has held me back in exploring different ideas and being able to find a sequence of images that I am happy with presenting.

I do not feel like I have developed any new skills but that I have continued to develop and practice skills that I already had.

During this project I have shown my work in two different crits, I feel as though as I have received constructive criticism that is going to help me improve my work in future projects. These crits made me realise that I need to be careful how I frame my images and to ask somebody that has not seen my work to evaluate them so that I can see if the connotations are what I am aiming for.

This project has challenged my ability to work on location and to be able to make good photographs without being able to pose and style the image. I do feel as though I could challenge myself further and I will try to do this in further projects.

If I were to do this project again then I would start by keeping my idea simple and easy to work with, and try pushing myself out of my safety zone as it has held me back in photographing new models as I was very nervous behind the camera.

Dawber Photography

Also in Masters Magazine was an article called cherubs corner, this showed photographs taken by Dawber Photography.

They have an offer which means they will take photographs of your baby's first year and the photographs they take that were featured in the magazine show a range of ages, but all the images show a positive and high key image.

Faye and Trevor Yerbury

Reading Masters Magazine which I got from the Photography Show '14 in Birmingham I saw an article  about Faye and Trevor Yerbury so I looked for more images that they had taken and found these:

Low Key or High Key

High Key

High key images are  not overexposed images, they are correctly exposed images with a light overall look, these images range from grey to white and although the background may be white or overexposed the subject remains clear and light does not bleed into the edges of the subject.

These often create a happy and bright feeling and can be used in glamour and fashion shots because of the positive connotations, they are also used in family portraits and many stock images.

Low Key

Low Key images are correctly exposed images with a black background, these types of images have almost negative connotations depending on the subject however can also be used to create bold and dramatic photographs, typically portraits.

This type of photograph is usually used in musical gigs and performances because the set up has been designed to work well in low light. It can however also be used in portraits and still life's.

Black and White or colour ?

After looking into the connotations of Black and White photography I found that many people seem to think that monochrome adds a historical feeling but others feel that colour can be distracting when the photographer is trying to focus on showing the light and shadows. Monochrome can also be used to draw attention to details that may have been lost inside a colour photograph or print.

The world as we see it is in colour which makes me think that black and white has a lonely and sad connotation because of the lack of colours.

Colour photographs are seen as contemporary because when photography first started everything was printed in black and white because of the technology available. Colour is still relatively new within photography so many people feel like this shows new and modern images.

Colour photography can be used to both extremes of making the colours bounce and pop so that the world seems happier and brighter yet can also be used to make the colours dull and look desaturated.


For where I wanted to go with my idea originally the black and white would have given the photographs a dark upsetting atmosphere which would have played on the viewers emotions, however with changing my idea I think colour photography will create a happy and playful atmosphere.

Shoot three

I have taken another shoot of some of my neighbours children, however the parents asked me if I would not put them online.

I took images of the two brothers and sister playing together on their trampoline and outside their house.

I think the shoot went good however I feel it could have been better because the girl was very nervous infront of the camera and would stop to smile for the camera instead of playing, I think this is because I have not photographed them before and she felt nervous around me.

Another one of the neighbours children who was playing with the others did not wish to be photographed so many photographs have her only slightly in the background.

Home Studio Shoot - evaluation

So I took a studio flash light home over the weekend so I could try studio style lighting in a natural setting (taking a three year old on a long train journey and photographing him in the studio seemed like a bad idea at the time - so why not take the studio home with me!)


However trying to ask him to pose for me was difficult as he was more interested in playing than being photographed (I expected nothing else) so I continued photographing him while he was playing and decided I liked those ones better than what I had intended to do.

So I am going to change my idea and photograph children while they are playing and not focusing on me, I prefer photographs like this as they look more natural and the child is relaxed.

Damian McGillicuddy

While reading Master Photography I came across an article about the photographer Damian McGillicuddy, one of the images in the magazine caught my eye (top image) and while looking into his work I found his blog (Here) and found the other images shown here.

Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus, A Child Crying, New Jersey, 1967

Diane Arbus, Child in a Night Gown, Shelter Island, New York, 1957

Diane Arbus, Child with a Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, New York, 1962

Sally Mann

Sally Mann, Candy Cigarette, from series Immediate Family, 1989

Sally Mann, Damaged Child, 1984

Sally Mann, Naptime, 1989

Sally Mann, Night Blooming Cereus, 1988

So ... Model Release Forms ?

After talking with my tutor about my idea he suggested I go into a local nursery and photograph the children against a plain wall.

I am thinking about going with this idea however I do not know how to create Model Release forms or to create a form so that the nursery can see my idea and give me permission to photograph inside.

I looked at the book "AOP Beyond the Lens" as in the back they have examples of model release forms for both adults and minors. I feel the language they have used to too technical and many of the parents would not understand the form so they would not give me permission. This means I am going to be creating my own form, only I have no idea how to do this.

Examples from AOP :

Standard Release Form

Adult Release Form (short)

Adult Release Form (long)

Minor Release Form (short)

Minor Release Form (long)