One Square Mile Assignment; Test Shots & real shoots.

I took this out on a limb, I didn't think it would have being an effective shot but I went for it anyway and it ended up being the only effective shot that night. I learnt with my first shoot of night time/straight-flat on shots that I need to think completely out of my normal thinking pattern when it comes to shots because the ideas I had in mind didn't work out in the slightest. I don't really know what it is about this image that I like to be fair, I think the wall in this setting looks oddly placed and makes you wonder why its even there- it's the most prominent leading line too which I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing. Then the white wall next to it is all dis-coloured and has a whole in it. The lighting I think is quite effective too because it's lighter on the wall which is not 'broken' and darker on the side that is, the wall in between them both break it up- a good contrast of old and new.

I cropped it to see if it had any effect- and I think now after looking at both images I notice that cropping it has taken away half of the information about this image that makes it effective. 

On my second shoot I got a lot more usable images,  I didn't have as much trouble with the tripod and I had more of an idea of what exactly I needed to look out for when I was choosing areas to capture. I'm going to re-take most of these as some of them bug me, like the one directly below, being too softly focused and for that reason not fitting in with the other images(I'm scrapping the soft focus idea after seeing the affect on this image because I think it looks like it wasn't meant to be that way, like a flaw) maybe if I took some more with a soft focus then it would fit, but as of now I don't like it within the set with the other images. After this shot I realised I wanted to capture in the images that trees are blurring and the lens has flares in the pictures because I think it fits the more night time feel and create movement within the images and emphasise the empty feeling to them. I also decided when editing the images that I preferred the shots that had a warmer tone to them than the ones which where more green-y and clear looking so I tweaked the colour balance and channel mixer so that the images are more red/yellow- I think this makes them work and fit better as a set and is more effective as it adds to the night-time feel building on the tone of the street lights.

^ I think this image is slightly off the flat side, if I'd of move slightly to the right then it would have being straight down the street and looked less angled ,when I shoot this again I will correct this. There is generally something about this image which I don't think fits with the rest of the images, it's too green and not enclosed enough to fit the other images. In the crit Liz said she thinks this image tells too much information compared to the rest, she preferred the images that told her less "more mysterious".

^ This image is not straight and I didn't even realise until the crit! I'm defiantly going to be re-shooting this image and I'll make sure the house is perfectly vertical. Update since third shoot: I retook this image and  did get it to be straighter but noticed that the road it's self wasn't flat and where I was stood couldn't be changed if I wanted this composition, so I may have to make do with a just off-straight image in this case or take it out of the set. 

(re-shot but not edited fully)

^ Another image that has a light/dark contrast within it- less obvious as the first but still there. This image is definatly flat and straight on and the contrast of light/dark is clear- pretty happy with how this turned out, may shoot it again to get rid of the really bit light stars that kind of take over the image. (I'll be doing this with all of my images because they're a distraction from letting the viewer look around the images) This was one of Liz's favourite images out of them all.

^ Another image I didn't think would be effective or even used in the series but I really like it. I think the image fits amazingly with the narrative as the garage is old, run-down and not in the best of shape, the grass is over grown and discoloured in places. The cat brings a sense of life to the place(the only animal/human I captured so far in the images) what I think doesn't fit about this image is the angle it's taken at- it's not flat at all and this wouldn't be a problem in any other series because I like abstract shots more then flat ones but since I made the rule about wanting flat images- either I shoot this image again or it has to go sadly.

Even though these are test shots I ordered them in the way I'd present them if they were my final images; I chose to have the images in an order where there's an image where its mainly a shape followed by a street image after- I decided this because I wanted to build information and concept as the viewer went through the series. We did a peer mid review and Liz had mentioned that she didn't really think the images needed an order "because of the content being mainly about simplicity and shapes" she added that she thinks "it might be nice to have the shots with leading lines and streets first then have closer up shots like to what you would find if you went down the streets" I'm going to take this suggestion into consideration- I like the idea of having one aesthetic first then having the second after.

After the peer review I realised that more than one image had a contrast of light and dark in the same image and I may look out for more light/dark contrasting shots I could capture- I'm not entirely sure if having more of them would help my project or make the effect overused and then ineffective but I'll try take some more and see what they look like together. 

(contact sheets from first and second shoot)

Mid-Project Peer- Review: 

Q: What are the photographs about? What is the concept?

A: The concept is to show an area at night and show it to be quiet and tranquil and it shows the beauty within the simple things you wouldn't normally notice. 

Q: Is there a common aesthetic? How could they be edited to make into a more coherent series?

A: There is a common aesthetic because they are all shot at night and have a similar colour scheme - early colours such as browns, yellows, greens.

Q: Does the order of the images make sense? Does the order enhance the concept?

A: Not really. I don't think this set of images needs an order because of the content mainly being about simplicity and shapes. I think it might be quite nice to have the shots with leading lines and streets first then have closer up shots like to show what you would find if you went down the streets.

Q: What is working with the series? 

A: The limited colour palette. The way things have been shot straight on.

Q: Which images aren't working well? Consider this both in terms of communication and aesthetic.

A:The image with the blue car in the background,  it has too much in it and isn't mysterious enough like the other ones. Also the one with the mental fence because the line of the house isn't straight. 

Q:Are there any images that need to be worked on? cropping etc.

A: Crop into pic with blue car in background. Either crop to remove information or re-shoot so not as bright green/edit in Photoshop. 

Q: Are there any images that should be removed? Soft/Overexposed/doesn't fit the series etc.

A: possibly re-shoot the one of the zig-zag wall and stand further back- the same with the mental fence.

Q: What images are missing? i.e. should there be a landscape image to give context? would dead pan/street images be more suitable?

A: Would like to see some more of brick walls and areas where a street lights something up but in the same image where the light isn't pointing have a dark area- contrast light and dark. 

Q: Other stuff...

A: Prefer the ones that are dark and mysterious with muted colours.

Looking at these images I personally don't see a clear full on punch-in-the-face narrative either do I see a narrative building up as I view each image... The crit told me that people do get something from the images "that it's a quiet place, colourful, bit grimey(run-down)" which is what I'm trying to capture but I don't think my images say it clearly enough so the next time I shoot I think I'm going to aim to capture more the run-down areas of the area I grew up around in. I'm going to try get more dark and light, old and new contrasting shots and see if these four ideas balanced against each other make my narrative stronger. I also need to do some daytime shots still, I think that having both times documented in the series may bring an entirely different narrative into play though to be fair so I really don't know if I'll end up using any of the day time shots. For when I do the daytime shots though I might try document them in a different way to the night time shots -I may capture the images as if I'm trying to advertise the area around where I live; The day time shots could say "come live here, it's beautiful and fully cared for" these images could be manipulated loads; all imperfections of the area taken out but Photoshop and made to look fake whilst the nigh time shot can say show something different- the true appearance of the streets.  I could also create a narrative that's playing on the idea of everything looking different at night.

I did another night shoot, went to a few different locations as well as re-took some of the other shots I did from the first shoot although the retakes were disastrous compared to the originals shot images- focusing was defiantly more of a problem on this shoot with it being so dark I could't tell if the images were in focus or not when I took them it was only after they were taken I could see and even when I attempted to get the image in focus and take it again it wasn't much better. The thing is with this project I need to slow down to be able to do it successfully but walking around the streets at night with my camera in the freezing cold counter acts the slowness I need- scared of being mugged and the winter nights getting colder is never helpful but I do stay out as long as I can with my camera to try get everything I need for the series- this project is just very different from any other I've done- I'm not enjoying it as much either, but what I wanted to do with this project is try something entirely new and try to stretch and challenge myself. I think I got a few more images to use at least with this shot but over  all I think I got a lot less use-able images compared to the last shoot. I tried to stop the light doing that "star" flare shape but all I accomplished was getting darker images that can't be used. The next shoot I do will be in the day so hopefully I won't have any problems with blur, focus and light flares.

After looking through the images and editing the ones I thought were usable I noticed that I took a fair few images of walls and I really like the look of all the wall images as a set;  I prefer the colours in them images too- the colours are brighter and more vibrant as compared to the more dull and desaturated style I was doing with the other images I took before. For this shoot I kept changing the shutter speed rather then keeping it at the a 3rd of a second like I did in the shoot before this one- I did this because I found that in the new locations I went the street lights weren't always hitting the section of the area I was photographing so I had to compensate by having a longer exposer time. When I look at all the images together I still don't see the clear narrative I want, I need to keep it simple and focus on the area as a whole, maybe ditch the "run-down and not cared for side" as much because some of my images seem to be only saying that the area is a rubbish tip like the photo above which is not what I mainly wanted to do- I think I may have picked too many narratives to get across and got them both mixed up in each other and I don't have enough time to re-shoot completely.

I did a day time shoot and realised that it wouldn't be a good idea to have both sets of images together as the images of the areas at different times will just add confusion and yet another thing to take in that messes up the clear narrative I'm aiming for, the day time side was never really going to be defiantly used anyway it was just to see the different effect it had on the feel to the area and to see which would suit the series better, and I wanted to try out having two photography types together like in Zed Nelson's "Gun Country" where he uses advertising type photography and documentary to get his point across but after actually doing the shoot I don't think the idea of two types in this situation would actually work right, I think it would act as more of a distraction from the real narrative than building on it and making it clearer. 

Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos.

-I'll make another blog and put the link here. 

http://nataliephotography2.blogspot.co.uk/

Zine & Video Zine Assignment; TASK 3.

CD cover design Photoshop made drafts;

One Square Mile Assignment; Proposal & Research.

For my 'One Square Mile' project I have chosen to do a series of photographs documenting around the area I live in, in the style of Richard Billingham(Cradley Heath), George Shaw and The Bechers.

My first idea was pretty board to be honest I thought to photograph places that are really beautiful that people normally overlook from day to day, I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted to photograph I just knew what I wanted to get across; unseen beauty. After seeing work for Richard Billiham and The Bechers I've change my idea slightly; photographing places that are normally overlooked that aren't really significant or beautiful. I'll be aiming to make people stop, slow down and look at the little things in an area to be able to see the strange beauty that's in them. I once again built on the idea and I've decided to photograph the shapes as well as the streets around where I live because shapes are literally everywhere, but I for one never seem to notice them- so to go along with the 'showing people normally overlooked and insignificant places' idea I thought putting emphasises on little details(shapes) of the area would really help my narrative.

I'm aiming to take the pictures in a really simple, flat/straight on way. I'll take pictures both at night and in the day time to see what effect that has on the same area. I'll be using a tripod for both times of the day but for the night time photography I will be using a low ISO, small aperture and a slow shutter speed to get the effect I want. I won't be using a direct flash I will relying on street lights around the area, I'm doing this because I personally think that using flash makes images look harsh and flat, and although I want my images to be flat I don't want them to be 2D or lifeless, I also think that if I used a flash then the natural glow of the street lights would be lost which I don't want because the street lights will give the mood into my images which will act as if the viewer is walking down the streets seeing the sights I capture; I really want the viewers to experiencing it rather than just glance because to truly get the meaning of my narrative you have to search and take in the area not just skim past, blurry like people do in their every day life's. I think I'm going to add my own spin on the images as well by trying out a soft focus effect- giving them that almost dreamy sort of feel as I think the simple, flat style would mix well with a softer focus. I'm not sure about how I want the colours to be in the images, or if I want a high or low contrast; I think I'll most likely be trying to create the most simplest/flat and clear images I can; really basic so hardly any contrast, hardly any colour and lots of clear flat lines within the images and I don't think I'll be altering them in Photoshop much- although this could change. I need to remember when capturing the images that I'm trying to show beauty but I'm not wanting to make the images look fake or unreal, I want the images to be uninteresting on first glance because that's what the subject places are and my aim to it make the places become" more interesting/have their interestingness shown the more you look into them. There is a second narrative I'm also trying to get across that's about the area; that's in need of repair and not cared for very well but even in the condition it's in, the area still has some beauty left in it but it goes unseen and unacknowledged.
.

Richard Billingham-Cradley Heath/Black Country;

These first two picture were taken in the day time around where Billingham grew up, he later went back around the same area and took night time images with a tripod and a light metre. I prefer the night time images to the day time ones to be honest because I like how he exaggerated the colours in them, it makes the images seem more like a set and makes it clear in which the time they were took. They fit better together as a series in my opinion, the images look a lot more atmospheric and empty which mixes well with the simplicity of them, I think this is what I'll be trying to create as well; more depth into the images. In "The Black Country' series, Billiham uses the colour and light in exaggerated ways to expose how important they are in the way we see images. 

The Bechers;

 Bernd and Hilda Becher are two German photographers who worked together, spending months, years to research an project idea; waiting for winter and a foggy day to capture the style of image they need. They aim to emphasise shapes within the subjects they photograph and their images are most commonly straight on and everything about the composition is specifically chosen to match the rest of the images in the series'. The Bechers take each image separately but present them all together in one big image(see below) I may present my final images in a similar way. I really love the continuous framing and style in these series', I love how each subject is different but taken in the same way as to suggest all these things do the same thing but are constructed differently. I like how the photographers have basically categorised each subject and exposed the differences in these normally over looked objects and made them worth looking at- making something seemingly uninteresting become rather beautiful.

Paul Graham;

In Graham's project; "Troubled Land" he Stayed impartial through out the series of images- he did this by photographing both sides of his point and doing it in a way that is as if to say how pointless and silly the fight over unimportant roads etc was. Each image was colourful and bright- which contrasted with the content of his images which had a darker side to them considering it was two contries fighting over ireland. Each images makes the veiwers have to search around the images to gain more information about the subject matter, to understand what Gramham was documenting and his veiw on it, the more images you see the more clear the narrative is which is what makes the project so successful- the search for information, the presentation of each images being so contrasted to the meaning of them, the images look like it they could be taken in any ordinary countryside town but when looking closer at the images the real meaning and purpose to the images is exposed. I'd really lie to have this sort of effect with my images although I don't see how I could make it as effective as it is used in "Troubled Land" but I could keep giving more information about the area and how it is living there with each image I put in the set... I'll have to see how this works.