The image above is the negative i chose to print 20x24, the bigger print of the four.
The remaining three are negatives i chose for the 3 smaller prints
Friday 23 January 2015
Final 5x4 black and white prints
The image above is the negative i chose to print 20x24, the bigger print of the four.The remaining three are negatives i chose for the 3 smaller prints
Evaluation
The concept around this project for me became clear for me after only a tiny bit of research opposed to the last project where i really struggled to figure out what i would base the entire thing on. Looking at portraits that are already out there it became evident that there are different interpretation you can achieve that cross over into different styles, such as fashion and documentary. I decided early on that i wanted to achieve a more natural, documentary style portrait, to achieve this i also decided early on that i wanted the subject(s) to be strangers, at least for the most part.
The factors that really influenced me during this project was seeing the portrait style used with documentary in the cases of images i saw in wonderland magazine a few of which i used as examples. Both the group portraits and single portraits within the magazine, helped me figure out the look i really wanted to go with. I liked the idea of shooting outside against urban backdrops such as sky, brick walls and shop shutters. The images within the magazine, although i knew they were models hired to be in the shot. Made me look at them as if they were taken by a friend in a relaxed environment or candid or even just chance encounters, which is why i decided to go more with images of strangers so they were infact chance encounters.
If i was to go back to this project in order to improve the work i've done i would have taken a lot more dark slide out with me especially when shooting with the 5x4 field camera. This is because some of my negatives didn't work out right leaving me without enough time to shoot more resulting in me not capturing full length images, the majority of my images were mid shots. This in return means a certain aspect of the brief wasn't met. But this is an error on my part because i know film photography is unpredictable and its not always certain you will capture the image perfectly sometimes the image will be fogged etc. Looking back i should have thought ahead it is better to have more images than needed than too few.
Also with the images i have put forward in the black and white part of the project i felt that my smaller prints could have been a lot better, the negatives were quite gray which left my images looking gray all over and the whites were not white. In order to change the tones in the prints I did use a 5 filter to bring out the whites but i wasn't 100% happy with the finished result. I felt that a lot more time could have been taken to show the best of my ability in the dark room.
A new skill i have gained, isn't really a new skill for me however i feel i have improved upon this skill massively within this project. Just like the last project i brushed upon the fact i gained skills in talking with the subject of my photographs, in the case of the last project it was my grandparents so it was an easier transition but in this project is was infact strangers, i felt more comfortable talking to the strangers and actually approaching people which this time last year was a terrifying prospect for me.
This assignment challenged me quite a bit more so with shooting color film, as i stated previously i have only really shot color film using a disposable camera i am in no way shape or form used to loading color film or shooting color film using a hasselblad, i have used a hasselblad with a digital back but not with a film back, i also have never printed color images in a dark room before where as i am very familiar with how black and white darkrooms work as i have used them since the age of 13/15. Also not being a fan of the dark in my personal life i am proud that i was able to print in the color dark room which is completely pitch black it doesn't have red lights like the black and white darkroom.
upon reflecting upon this project i feel happy with the images i have put forward, but in some cases i feel i didn't achieve the best results, i felt that i am capable of much better like my previous projects.
The factors that really influenced me during this project was seeing the portrait style used with documentary in the cases of images i saw in wonderland magazine a few of which i used as examples. Both the group portraits and single portraits within the magazine, helped me figure out the look i really wanted to go with. I liked the idea of shooting outside against urban backdrops such as sky, brick walls and shop shutters. The images within the magazine, although i knew they were models hired to be in the shot. Made me look at them as if they were taken by a friend in a relaxed environment or candid or even just chance encounters, which is why i decided to go more with images of strangers so they were infact chance encounters.
If i was to go back to this project in order to improve the work i've done i would have taken a lot more dark slide out with me especially when shooting with the 5x4 field camera. This is because some of my negatives didn't work out right leaving me without enough time to shoot more resulting in me not capturing full length images, the majority of my images were mid shots. This in return means a certain aspect of the brief wasn't met. But this is an error on my part because i know film photography is unpredictable and its not always certain you will capture the image perfectly sometimes the image will be fogged etc. Looking back i should have thought ahead it is better to have more images than needed than too few.
Also with the images i have put forward in the black and white part of the project i felt that my smaller prints could have been a lot better, the negatives were quite gray which left my images looking gray all over and the whites were not white. In order to change the tones in the prints I did use a 5 filter to bring out the whites but i wasn't 100% happy with the finished result. I felt that a lot more time could have been taken to show the best of my ability in the dark room.
A new skill i have gained, isn't really a new skill for me however i feel i have improved upon this skill massively within this project. Just like the last project i brushed upon the fact i gained skills in talking with the subject of my photographs, in the case of the last project it was my grandparents so it was an easier transition but in this project is was infact strangers, i felt more comfortable talking to the strangers and actually approaching people which this time last year was a terrifying prospect for me.
This assignment challenged me quite a bit more so with shooting color film, as i stated previously i have only really shot color film using a disposable camera i am in no way shape or form used to loading color film or shooting color film using a hasselblad, i have used a hasselblad with a digital back but not with a film back, i also have never printed color images in a dark room before where as i am very familiar with how black and white darkrooms work as i have used them since the age of 13/15. Also not being a fan of the dark in my personal life i am proud that i was able to print in the color dark room which is completely pitch black it doesn't have red lights like the black and white darkroom.
upon reflecting upon this project i feel happy with the images i have put forward, but in some cases i feel i didn't achieve the best results, i felt that i am capable of much better like my previous projects.
Shooting color film
Today is the first time i have shot color film on a film camera other than the generic disposable cameras you used on holiday in the early 2000 .
The camera in question was a hasselblad with a film back.
I enjoyed using the hasselblad a lot more than 5x4 field camera due to the fact that its way more portable and light, there isn't heavy equipment to carry you aren't confined to one space and you don't have to waste time setting up the camera. With the hasselblad i could physically walk to people and ask opposed to seeing people walk around to obviously avoid me.
I am really excited to see how the images turn out once they are back from the shop.
The camera in question was a hasselblad with a film back.
I enjoyed using the hasselblad a lot more than 5x4 field camera due to the fact that its way more portable and light, there isn't heavy equipment to carry you aren't confined to one space and you don't have to waste time setting up the camera. With the hasselblad i could physically walk to people and ask opposed to seeing people walk around to obviously avoid me.
I am really excited to see how the images turn out once they are back from the shop.
My direction
Through my research and even the 5x4 images so far i definitely want to capture images that document the person and for it to look natural not staged. Therefore for my black and white images and color i want to capture them outside and mostly of strangers.
With the decision to take images outside i feel that my images will hold a lot more truth about a person, this will also allow me to interact with strangers and improve my people skills which in return will only make me better when encountering people in the photographic industry such as models, art directors etc.
With the decision to take images outside i feel that my images will hold a lot more truth about a person, this will also allow me to interact with strangers and improve my people skills which in return will only make me better when encountering people in the photographic industry such as models, art directors etc.
Color film photographers
Alec Sloth
Alec Soth is a photographer who captures portraits in a way that looks like he is documenting the person, not just taking an image of their face. Be it with their clothing or lack of, or props of nothing at all what i got from looking into his work is that he manages to capture them in an instant.
I've chosen a select few images that i really liked,
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In portraits the idea of capturing the essence of a person in a single image is in a sense documentary, the two styles (portrait and documentary) merge together in most cases depending how the image looks and what the concept and situation was. For example a portrait taken in a studio with a glamorous model is still a portrait but is more on the side of fashion or editorial, where as a portrait taken of a stranger on the street or possibly a headshot of a model at a casting is more of a document of the person making it more documentary.
primary research single portraits
Single portrait primary research
aswell as looking at the pairs or group images in Wonderland i also looked at some single portrait images.
The images below are two types of image in my head and i have ordered them into those groups.
The images above to me appear more natural, less set up. As i stated earlier this is a look i want to get with my portraits, in pairs or not.
To me these images look obviously stages either set up in a studio or equally just a controlled environment. This gives the images a more editorial, fashion look.
Photographer who take portraits on black and white film - Sean Moorman
Sean Moorman
Out of the portraits by Sean Moorman i have selected i really love the effect of having a natural background, they don't look set up as if they were staged in a studio. I have had the option of shooting images in the studio for this project but i love the idea of being outside not asking people who i know to pose for a photo because that in itself can be staged because you plan in advance, instead due to the look of these images it makes me feel like he's walked up to someone in the street and asked there and then to take their photo giving a more natural look and this is something i feel i want to do to actually capture the person.
First time out
Today i took the camera out for the first time, opposed to just getting strangers which my lecturer encouraged us all to do i just wanted to capture some images of Elle and Courtney who i knew, just for the time being to get myself back into using the camera. As the last time i used this camera was in first year for the Hartlepool Landscape project. I feel like the one main image that worked went well, it is a mid shot image of the two looking off camera.
Primary portrait research into pairs
Primary portrait research into pairs
I have a Wonderland magazine, and i thought just to get ideas of how pairs are used in photography in general, not alway in portraits however all of these in one way or another can be considered a portrait.
All of my primary research images are in various depths of field from close up mid length and full length. i have also used an example of a portrait of three people not just a pair.
Pair portraits
Our tutors have said to try and focus more on pairs in photography. In order to see how this looks in photography i feel researching this would benefit me.
Online sources
Francois Brunelle:
Brunelle is a photographer who has had an interest in the human face since the age of 18 when he started out as a photographer. He has created a photographic series where he find complete strangers who look almost identical, as if they were real life twins.
The theory that everyone has at least one or multiple doppelgangers in the world, other people that look almost identical to you is an interesting topic and this photographic series is very interesting considering that theory.
Portraits with pairs are very interesting to look at. You can get mixed messages through there faces one can be happy and one can look concerned, too serious or loving.
Online sources
Francois Brunelle:
Brunelle is a photographer who has had an interest in the human face since the age of 18 when he started out as a photographer. He has created a photographic series where he find complete strangers who look almost identical, as if they were real life twins.
The theory that everyone has at least one or multiple doppelgangers in the world, other people that look almost identical to you is an interesting topic and this photographic series is very interesting considering that theory.
Portraits with pairs are very interesting to look at. You can get mixed messages through there faces one can be happy and one can look concerned, too serious or loving.
Lesson with Tim about depth of field.
Lesson with Tim on portrait photography
Today tim took the group outside the from on CCAD to learn more about depth of field this is because for the first three black and white portraits we are asked to create has to be in 3 different depths of field. Close up, mid shot, and full length. Honestly before this lesson with Tim i knew of depth of field but i didn't have a complete technical understanding of it, I feel i know a great deal more now from this.
We were split into groups of 5 and were given a camera, and some tape and we were asked to mark on the floor all the various depths of field. To better understand how to focus the camera no matter where the subject is within the frame.
Depth of field
I already have an idea of what depth of field is, but i still feel i could benefit from researching more into. However this session with Tim really helped me wrap my head around depth of field a lot more.
What is depth of field
'The distance between the furthest and closed objects giving a focused image'
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/07/17/what-is-depth-of-field-how-aperture-focal-length-and-focus-control-whats-sharp/
Camera's can only focus on one thing at a time, if you want the background in focus but not the foreground you need to make sure the camera is focused on that spot and vice versa.
The higher the depth of field is on the camera means that more of the image will be focused.
Most digital cameras come with an automatic setting which controls all the setting such as the depth of field however to get the sharpness and focus you want to achieve having your own control and actually changing the settings is the best bet.
Depth of field
I already have an idea of what depth of field is, but i still feel i could benefit from researching more into. However this session with Tim really helped me wrap my head around depth of field a lot more.
What is depth of field
'The distance between the furthest and closed objects giving a focused image'
http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2013/07/17/what-is-depth-of-field-how-aperture-focal-length-and-focus-control-whats-sharp/
Camera's can only focus on one thing at a time, if you want the background in focus but not the foreground you need to make sure the camera is focused on that spot and vice versa.
The higher the depth of field is on the camera means that more of the image will be focused.
Most digital cameras come with an automatic setting which controls all the setting such as the depth of field however to get the sharpness and focus you want to achieve having your own control and actually changing the settings is the best bet.
Portrait photography brief
Who are they?
This project is another portrait unit, unlike the portrait unit we did last year using a hasselblad in the studio, for this one we are not confined to the studio completely, using 4x5 negatives and the same camera we used in the Hartlepool landscape project.
There are three outcomes in this project, there is three 9.5 x 12 inch black and white prints. One 20 by 24 inch black and white exhibition standard print and also six 12 x 16 inch colour prints. All presented in either a print box or portfolio.
I am excited to complete this project because, although i found it difficult to use the 4x5 camera the last time i used it bearing in mind it was the first time i had used it, but i did like how the images looked from using the camera. Also i just want to learn how to use this camera better so i could possibly use it on my own in the future for side projects i may want to work on. I also just really like portraiture, i like capturing the essence of a person through a single image.
Shooting again (5x4)
Today myself and Courtney took the 5x4 camera out again. We had the intention of asking strangers to pose for us and this really worked, however i was definitely scared to approach people. We used shop shutters as a backdrop to get an urban natural back ground and i like the way this made my images look i managed to capture images that in my opinion are natural just like a first encounter with someone which was the case here. I am thoroughly looking forward to printing these pictures and seeing how they turn out!
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