Experimental photography project // Experimental

Since we have recently just finished the Street photography project, we have therefore moved on to our next project. This next project is experimental photography.

To me, this project seems quite interesting as I will get to manipulate images to create different effects. This will be through either a hands on way in the dark room with SLR negatives, or digitally after the negatives have been processed or with digital images.

As well as using SLR film cameras in black and white, as well as colour. To me this is fascinating and daunting as I'm reverting into the unknown as you can't see the images until you get the film reel processed then developed and enlarged. Even though this is much more daunting, it also feels very time rewarding as you can see the images as they get developed with the stages along the way.

I'm also going to be doing a bit of editing on photoshop and pixlr (which is a free online version of photoshop), to create experimental images through a digital format. To me this will be quite fun and interesting because I will be learning how to use these programmes as I go about putting what I know to use within my work.

Along with this I will be learning new techniques that I will be able to put into practice. These techniques will involve things like putting different types of materials or substances over the photographic paper before I enlarge an image onto the paper. Double exposing a colour film. Seeing how a colour negative would come out in the college's dark room which can only enlarge black and white images. As well as more new techniques.

This project will also involve research of photographers that I will find out about whilst doing this project. This will be interesting as I will be looking through there work and taking inspiration for my own from theirs. This will involve looking through the list of photographers we have been given on the brief as well as doing some more research of my own to find different photographers that create images that I like and prefer the style of to others.

Below are two images of the types of experimental photography that I will be looking at and having a go at for my own work.

Evaluation of Street Photography project // Street

What was the project brief?
The brief for our street photography project was to capture the images in public places by using a camera patience and guts. Also to watch people and observe the perfect place and time to press the shutter release button to capture the image. 
1. What was the project theme and what did you think of it?
The theme of this project was 'street photography', which at first I wasn't too thrilled about for a number of reasons. Firstly because with our first project which was 'portraiture' we could mould our image and subject in a way so that we could capture exactly what we want. Also we were trying to take images of a moment in time and capture something as it happened with people which wasn't at all easy. With 'portraiture' we were able to take photos of our friends and they knew we were doing it and were happy with it, but with 'street photography' we were having to take pictures of people that we had never met before in our lives, and at some points they expressed their grief to us about having their picture taken.
Midst of this project, I was starting to get used to the type of photography that was needed for this brief. I came to really enjoy the project's theme when I had a trip down to London, as I found that everywhere I went in London had people just about everywhere. Also with London there is major tourist attractions such as Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Leicester Square, Oxford Street, the London Underground System, and Covent Garden; these places always have tourists taking pictures or are just generally busy which makes street photography an interesting thing to do in London. Overall I enjoyed the project but I also found it difficult to get images that were as I wanted them. 
2. What part of the project did you enjoy the most/found most interesting (taking photograph? developing the film? etc.)
The part of this project which I found most interesting was taking the images. The main amount of my images I took around London which I really enjoyed doing, as I looked much more closely at what was going on around me and I felt as if I captured some interesting photos as I ventured around London.
3. What new techniques have you experienced?
I have learnt a few new techniques through doing this photography project. These include things such as observing my surroundings and keeping an eye on what's happening at all times. As well as just taking pictures and waiting until I can get to my desktop to see the full resolution of how they turned out. Also to not delete pictures that aren't my favourite, as I always used to delete images straight away if I wasn't particularly fond of them - but I have now came to realise that each picture I take could be useful at some point.
4. What technique would you like to develop further?
The technique that I would like to develop further would be arranging my composition of my image before I press the shutter button to take the picture. This was difficult to do in this project as it involved people and I had no control over what anyone in my images did. But I would like to be able to make sure my composition is right so that I can get everything exactly where I would like it in the image. This also means being prepared to turn my camera from landscape to portrait instantly. Also it would meant that I wouldn't cut anything out of the image in the process of taking it that I would want in the final image.
5. Which photographers did you research through this project?
The photographers that I researched throughout this project are Sam Burton, James Harold, Laurent Roch, Kin Chan, Julien Legrand, and Ronya Galka. I also got inspiration from a website which is http://www.ftud.net/. They all have aspects of the street photography that I took within their work which I really like of theirs.
6. How have they influenced your photographs?
They have influenced my photography work by taking aspects from their works and using them in my own work. Also Julien Legrand did a whole project of his called 'Underground Life' which showed life on the underground and I took inspiration from this by taking images whilst I was using the London underground system.
7. Which technique did you enjoy the most?
The technique that I enjoyed using the most was taking images from my waist level, this is because I liked taking the images and having to think about the composition in my head and then taking the image. This means that I wasn't able to look through the viewfinder and see exactly what was going to within the composition of the image. I then also liked looking at the images after i had taken a few from my waist level to see what they came out as and if and how I liked them.
8. What do you feel is the most successful part of your project and why? (sketchbook pages, final prints, cyan tones images? spray developed images, etc.)
I feel as if the most successful part of my project is the images I took from the top of a London bus. This is because I feel as if it adds a different perspective to street photography as the images haven't been taken from eye-level from pavement as they usually are. This is effective in my opinion because you are now looking down on people instead of straight at them and are having a new view to what they are all doing. Also taking pictures of things that wouldn't have been able to have been noticed from the floor.
9. Did you encounter any problems in your project?
I encountered numerous problems throughout this project. With problems such as having trouble to get the type of image that you want with the composition because you had to try and capture a moment as it happened otherwise you missed it, so you didn't have chance to make your composition absolutely spot on with how you want it. Also you were taking pictures of people quickly and without their permission, which can suddenly result in someone that was in your image complaining to you. I also found it difficult to capture the exact moment like the photographers that I took inspiration from, as you had to be in the right place at the right time and be ready in that exact moment to take the picture.
10. How did you learn from them and how did they affect your final prints?
I learnt from the problem with composition by making sure that I didn't get anything extraneous, such as a white van in my image, as this would draw the viewers attention to that object which you wouldn't want. The way I overcame the problem with people not being happy that I took their photo is by deleting the image if they came up to me and asked me to because they weren't happy with the idea of me having a picture of them. I overcame the problem with trying to capture a perfect moment in time by capturing what was around me and what was happening, because everything that is happening is interesting in one way or another.
11. What would you do differently given the chance to complete the project again?
If I was given the chance to complete the project again, I would do a few things differently. The things I would do differently are things such as making sure turned my camera round from landscape to portrait in an instant so that I got a different view and perspective on my subjects, for instance I could have included some of my subjects whole bodies. I would do this because portrait pictures are good for some types of images and landscapes being good for others, so if I had have taken some images with my camera being rotated so it was taking portrait composed images. I would also use my telephoto lens, as this would give me a larger opportunity to capture different things as I would be able to get images of people who were much further away from me and be able to tell what they were doing.
 12. What do you think about your final outcome and what are your feelings about the project?
Overall I am happy with my final outcome because I feel as if my images that I have used as my final pieces express what general life is like at certain places, especially London with all my favourite images that I took and that are on the blog are all from my trip to London. My feelings about this project are now much more positive from when I started it, this is because I have gotten used to this type of photography and have spent time doing it which has meant that I now look at what's happening around me much more than I ever used to. I am actually really happy that we did this project because it has meant I have now started observing and enjoying what's going on around me and taking the time to appreciate it. The only thing I had about this project was that I found it much more enjoyable around London, as there is something going on just about everywhere there and there's always something interesting to capture; I ended having trouble with Sheffield because it's the opposite of London with no where near as much going on.

Ronya Galka inspiration // Street

Ronya Galka has an interesting style of photography, as she takes images of people but everyone in them no-one is looking at the camera - therefore the viewer can't see the subject's identity and has no idea what kind of emotion they may be experiencing at that given. To me, these images show an interesting aspect to street photography because the subjects of focus in the image are central and also because of how the images have been taken you can get a perspective of an onlooker at what was happening.

Each image is different in their own rights but all carry on similar themes and ideas. The similar themes and ideas are that they show no identity of the people which therefore means the subjects stay anonymous, which means you don't get the usual straight on picture which involves peoples faces. Also the idea that Galka has made all her images black and white so that the viewers attention is drawn to what she wants to be the main focal point of the image and not looking at the colour in the image.

Sam Burton inspiration // Street

Sam Burton's style of street photography fascinates me because he has captured a really different and edgy way of capturing life on the streets of London. His style of photography looks at shadows and how people can be captured within shadows, this then makes his style of photography very unique to him. How Burton has used colour to highlight his images and make them more eye catching and has images of legs being the major part of his images inspired me to capture a similar to his.

 This image by Burton is very captivating as the focus point is in the background on the three billboard images of some sort of fashion campaign. This works well because the people on the billboards look as if they are looking straight at you, added to this there's people walking along on the pavement who are looking straight ahead of them and not looking at all towards the camera. I like the fact that you have real people walking in front of people on billboards, as I find it adds an interesting effect to it.

To me this image is quite capturing from how lines are one of the main focus' of the image. The lines along the edge of the platform and edge of the train work well because they are in bright colours so are therefore very visible and eye-catching. Adding to the aspect of that you can see someone's legs walking off the train, which then ended up capturing the idea that the train is well in fact used and people are using it to do their everyday things, such as getting to work. The bright colours running throughout the image is another aspect of it which makes it as eye-catching as it is to the viewer, the bright yellow, red, blue, and white all contrast against each other - as the yellow in the image is the brightest thing there which then makes the viewer eye attracted to the image. The strong non-geometric shapes, such as the leg, are also very significant as they break up the lines that are running through the image. This is powerful as the legs are black, which is probably the strongest colour in the image, this breaks the image up in a number of ways - as all the lines along the platform are parallel to each other, then with the leg coming in at a totally different angle to that makes it all broken up in slightly different angles.

This image has been composed in black and white, so you can see the outlines of the people's bodies. There is a building in the background which is mainly glass, so you can see straight through into it. I like how Burton has made it so that the image is made up of black, white and different shades of grays. To me this image is very effective.

I have inserted my image below.

To me, this image has captured a few aspect's of Burton's images, like the second image of his that I have inserted in this post, with the train station, legs, and feet. I have also incorporated a few other things in like this being taken in an underground station, so therefore has billboards in the background. Also I took the image at the time when the train was going away from the station at high speed, this means that there is a red blur in the background from the train. The legs are all pretty blurred as well because they were walking into the frame at the right side and exiting at the left while all walking pretty quickly, this is why parts of their lower bodies are blurred. Overall I am quite happy with this image as it captures what life on the underground system is like, as well as capturing aspects of Burton's work and making my own interpretations of them.

Fireworks photography // Personal

Since today is bonfire night and fireworks go off all night which I can see from my bedroom window, I thought I may as well take some pictures of this. I used my dad's Nikon D90 camera with his tripod, which I set up around the window of my bedroom. I used the camera the aperture priority setting at the top of the camera on F22, this made sure that the camera had a long shutter speed. This meant that the camera picked up the light from the fireworks as they happened.

The image above, is my favourite image out of all the ones that I took tonight, as the fireworks are central of the frame. I love how you can see the smoke coming off the fireworks in the frame too. Overall, I literally love all these picture that I took tonight of the fireworks, as they have came out exceedingly well!

Photography of sparklers // Personal

As it's almost bonfire night, I thought it was fitting to take some pictures of the local girl guiding group playing around Endcliffe park whilst they played with sparklers. I had the camera on a long shutter setting to capture the light trails of the girls playing with their sparklers. 

  Overall I am incredibly happy with how these images have came out as the long shutter speed has meant that the camera has captured the light trails from the sparklers perfectly. This has been something that I have always wanted to photograph and now that I have, I am thrilled with the results. I am very thankful to the St Gabriels Guide for letting me join them at the park and photograph this of them!

James Harold inspiration // Street

I like the photography work done by Harold as I feel it captures quite a variation of life in and around London. This is being done by him because Harold has images ranging from tourists, chess players, eccentric street sellers, and a general view on life around the English capital city. His work can be found here.

I like these two images taken by Harold because they capture the atmosphere that is usually thought about when people mention 'London'. This is to do with London being the capital city of England and has the most historical features of an individual city in the United Kingdom. This then means that people from all around come to take pictures of these features so they can say to people that they know that they've been there, and then they will have their own images of these things. But since these historical features are so important and pretty to look at, people from England and even London take pictures of these things so they can have their own images of these things.
The image on the right has someone taking a picture of something, but it makes the viewer want to know what they are taking a picture of.

 These are the pictures that I took with Harold's image on the top right in mind for inspiration. This is because they are all taking pictures of things in Trafalgar Square, but you don't know what of and without the context of the image you wouldn't know where it has been taken. By doing this, it makes the viewer want to know what exactly they were taking a picture of - and especially in the image on the right it makes the viewer wonder why there's a crowd of people taking pictures of this one thing and what it is. I kept these images in colour instead of converting them to black and white like Harold to keep the bright colours of the image there, also as there is so much colour in these images I feel as if I removed it, it would have removed the life out of the image.

Similarly with these images, I took inspiration from Harold's image on the top left of this blog post. The image shows a female taking an image, I took inspiration from that by having the people that were taking the pictures in the image there with the image in clear view as part of my picture, but I also included in the left side what they were taking the picture of. This is different to what Harold has done as he had it so that you could only see what they were taking the picture of through that person's camera screen, but I like that I have done this as I feel as if it adds another perspective to the image as you can see their view of their family member and another view too. I feel as if the colour in these images is significant as it is a major part of what's going on and the context of the image, so therefore I haven't removed it and put the images into black and white.

Laurent Roch inspiration // Street

The project that Roch has named 'everyday' is made up of images of the 'everyday' world and life of different people. I find it interesting that he has images ranging from people glammed up looking as if they are walking along a red-carpet event during Cannes film festival, to people going about their general day activities and routines. I like this project of Roch's because it capture the everyday life of people which is a nice aspect to his work.

   As you can see from the images above Roch catches all aspects of the 'everyday' life of people in all different places; this to me is very powerful and interesting  as you see the type of things in his images quite a bit, but until you really think, look, and experiment with street photography most people probably wouldn't have thought of taking images like this.

I used this project of Roch's as inspiration for some of my work. Whilst I was in London with my mum not too long ago, I was taking pictures. This project worked well as inspiration because as I was walking around I could quickly capture something that was going on around me at the time.

I feel as if my images, which are below, capture the 'everyday' life of certain places in London and have carried along with Roch's project work. These are just images I got while walking to certain areas of London or being in main tourist spots. Each image, like Roch's work, is unique and different to the one before this then portrays more of a varied look on life within the English capital city.



Light trails around Ecclesall Road // Personal

While I was out with my sister at Halloween, we walked down to Ecclesall Road to take some images of light trails from moving vehicles. We both found this quite fun and interesting to do as we were stood around waiting to see how the image would come out. I had my Nikon D70 camera ( I swapped cameras) on a long shutter speed while I was leaning against a flat post waiting for the camera to capture the light trails from the moving vehicles around. Each image came out slightly different, with some having larger light trails than others.

As you can see from these images, each picture came out slightly different. I am very impressed with these as I haven't done this kind of thing that much, and Sheffield is nowhere near as busy as London is. I find light trail images very interesting to look at for a number of reasons, firstly because the photographer has managed to capture the image at the perfect second to get as good as effect as they did, secondly you can see the streaks of light going across the image which I always like to look at closely, and thirdly I always used to look out my bedroom window down at the cars on Ecclesall Road and want to take an interesting light trail image of it but had no idea until my dad mentioned it to me over the phone whilst I was in London taking photos for Street Photography. I will probably use this long shutter effect now every time I have my camera with me at evening time. I am looking forward to using this effect in the different cities and countries I go to from now on.

Halloween photography // Street

Since it has been Halloween very recently, I thought I'd take my camera out onto the streets and see what kind of images I could get using my dads Nikon D90 DSLR camera with a tripod. I used the no flash mode, this meant that the shutter speed was much slower than if I had just used flash. Seeing as though I didn't use flash during this photography shoot, I believe my images have come out much better as they capture the spirit of the evening, and even in some you can see that people wearing white have moved whilst the image was being taken - this has created a ghostly effect to the image. Each image that I took is different through it being pictures of pumpkins, people moving, or just generally capturing unsuspecting people as soon as they opened the door for my sister. I like how each image is different, I feel as if they have captured the widened sense around Halloween through a multitude of different types of photos, with most of them classing as street photography.

As you can see from these images, having the camera on a slow shutter speed has created this 'ghostly' effect which seems fitting as these pictures were taken on Halloween. I find that each of these images capture a slightly different aspect of the Halloween holiday celebration, but then all come together as they are all representing the Halloween holidays in England.

images from the top of a London bus // Street

The website http://www.ftud.net/ (From the upper deck) which is where the general public can post images that they have taken from the top deck of a London bus. This is what the current top post looks like.

I took inspiration from this website by taking images of what was happening and what I could see whilst I was on the top deck of a London bus. The bus we caught was from Oxford Circus to Trafalgar Square, so this meant that we were going along the main tourist spots - therefore there was always something happening and you could get some quite interesting photos by doing this. The images that I took are below.

This image has been taken along Oxford Street of busy shoppers. Each of the people within this image are all doing the same activity, but are all looking in different directions, walking at different speeds, all having different facial expressions adorning their face; this then conveys that each person is completing the same activity in different ways, the viewer could then want to know what each subject is thinking and where exactly they are destined to. You can also see how each person is tolerating the rain and what they are doing to divert it from landing atop of their heads, but the image suggests that most people don't mind about the rain or that they just don't have an umbrella or hood on them. Each subject have been to different shops but they have all come together in this image to complete the same activity just at different places within the same street.

 This image shows the speed that the bus was travelling at while I was trying to take pictures. It also portrays the idea of the amount of people that walk on Oxford Street everyday, which is a significant amount. One of the things I quite like about this image is that with it being quite blurred, you can therefore see all loads of bright colours coming through within the image. It also gives the effect that since it was raining, everyone was attempting to run in the opposite way of which the bus was going to try and get shelter and keep dry, but also they could be trying to get their shopping on Oxford Street done quite quickly.

 I am quite happy with this image that I took as you can clearly see textures and tones running through it, this has been created through the light and the rain that was happening when I took the image. Another thing that I quite like about this image is the idea that my DSLR camera has auto-focused on the black bar of the bus stop, by doing this it looks almost as if this image has been made up of two different images of the top of the bus stop and the underneath part of the bus stop where the three people are sitting. The three people sat at the bus stop are bundled up in warm clothes and are looking incredibly fed up waiting for their bus, each of them has a slightly different facial expression adorning their facial features - this then helps to communicate that each of the people are as bored as each other but are still different people in their own right. With the camera having auto-focused on the black bar, this has made it so the three people aren't totally in focus in the image, this has therefore created more of an effect that the viewer is then looking down at the people. Each of the three people are looking in different directions, which then makes the viewer wonder what they're looking at; then adding their individual facial expressions to this concept, it then makes you wonder what each of the people are thinking about.

                                                                                                                                  I find this image that I took quite striking and powerful for a number of reasons. Firstly, when I took this image I managed to capture lines going through the image which I am pleased with; these lines are the edge of the bus window, and a line of Barclay's cycle hire bikes which are commonly known as 'Boris Bikes'. The 'Boris Bikes' add an interesting effect to the image by them all being in a line and all having their back wheels featuring the light blue Barclays trademark colour, so they can have an advertising panel on it's rear wheel. Towards the upper right corner of the image there are a multitude of people's personal bikes bundled up together against a few street bike racks, this has been done by the bike owners to protect their cycles against theft. This is powerful and striking because there is that line of 'Boris Bikes', the across the road from them is people's personal bikes; this conveys that bikes is a significant form of transport for Londoners, it could also convey to the viewer that bicycles is one of the main focus' of the image. Also going through the image are a few roads, this then adds to the idea of transport of bicycles as they are all situated around a few roads, which would be the suspected area for them to be kept along public roads.

Kin Chan inspiration // Street

Kin Chan is a photographer off the website http://www.streetphotographylondon.co.uk who takes his images in colour. His works range from a number of different things, but the two below are my favourites of his that I took inspiration from. The top image is interesting because he took a picture from what it looks like of a corridor from the London underground system when nobody was about, by doing this the corridor looks as if its getting smaller towards the end of it. Also the lighting along the top of the corridor add an interesting effect to the image as you can see darkened rings in the corridor where the lights aren't on. The second image is interesting because you can see the panels where there's notice boards but you can't tell what's on them. Also the idea that you can see lines going through the image from how Chan has composed the image - the train tracks, the edge of the platform, the roof of the sheltered part of the platform, and where the platforms lights are; this then draws the viewers attention down those lines towards the bright sun, which looks as if its only recently rose. In the image the people are fed up waiting for a train, therefore you can see what each person does while they're waiting - for instance the man at the front is looking towards the ground with his hands in his pockets trying to keep warm, another man is looking down at his phone. 

I took inspiration from these images and therefore did my own interpretations of them, which are below.

In my opinion my images aren't half as good as Chan's because my first image has people walking on both sides of it which means I couldn't get the full narrowing corridor effect to it, also if I stood in the centre of the corridor the image would have come out much better has the central light source would have been running straight through the centre of the image which would have made my proportions much better. In my second image, I should have stood nearer to the edge of the platform of the tube station so then I could have got much more people in shot - this then would have shown what more people were doing whilst waiting for a train at Leicester Square Station. But overall for a first attempt of taking images like these in the underground, where I had to make sure it wasn't at all obvious that I was taking any pictures at all, have come out decently well. I now know from analysing these pictures of mine what I should do next time I want to take pictures like these. 

Julien Legrand inspiration // Street

Whilst I was in London, I travelled via the London underground system. Whilst I did this, I thought it would be a good chance to take some photos especially seeing as the photographer Julien Legrand from http://www.street-photographers.com based a whole project of his on 'Underground Life'. Here are four of Legrand's images that I took inspiration from.

With being on the London Underground, I had to take pictures without people realising because of the undergrounds photography rules. Therefore with having to do this, I used my phone - with doing this not all my images came out well. I also used my Nikon D70 camera, by standing still and taking the pictures from my waist, with doing this I had to guess how my images would come out as I couldn't put the camera up around my eye to look through the view-finder, but they all came out relatively well.

These are the images I took in the London Underground from my phone and DSLR camera going along Legrand's project title. I have kept the colour in my images as I think it adds effect of showing where each different thing is and the underground has colour in it as well. Altogether I am very pleased with how my images have come out and how I have used Legrand's images to inspire my own.