History Of Photography
Camera Obscura
The camera Obsura is an early version of modern day photography. It pathed the way for the photography we all love and know today. It did this by using a dark chamber with a hole in a wall. It reflected an inverted image onto the opposite wall. It allowed the photographer to view what he was trying to draw and gave a clearer image. This was used in the 16th Century to view solar eclipses. It was then developed to be more portable and then developed to a handheld one that could be pocketed. This then extended to the photography we know to today.
My Camera Obsura
Analysis
When I made my camera obsura I used black paper to make the outside design with a side of tracing paper. I then attached a lens which allowed my camera obsura to have more clarity and my result was a much clearer image. This allowed to me alter the focal distance of what you could see through the camera obsura and made for a really clear and interesting viewing. When tracing my image it has harder because the tracing paper wasn't attached very well. I had to be more careful when tracing. After I had traced my image, I then began to take some photographs and this is how it went...
With my photos of my I tried to achieve a rich photo. I did this by using a high contrast and high exposure to create a difference between the background and my face. I also had a high aperture to achieve this blur. We were supposed to leave the camera on auto setting but miss allowed me to play around with manual settings. I tried to frame the shots so that my head was the furthest line and the camera obsura wasn't fully in shot all of the time. This allowed me to use a technique called viewer space. This technique is where you give the viewer room as if to see what your seeing in the photo. This is effective because it gives the viewer the feeling they can really see into the photo. Furthermore, with the camera obsura phots I tried to do a close up analysis of camera obsura so that the viewer could see the intricate details of the project. I tried to focus the images that my face was in focus and that the background and camera obsura was out of focus. This created a nice blur effect that really captured me and my expressions. This allows the viewer to really feel the photo as it shows them that the face is what is trying to being captured.
With my photos of my I tried to achieve a rich photo. I did this by using a high contrast and high exposure to create a difference between the background and my face. I also had a high aperture to achieve this blur. We were supposed to leave the camera on auto setting but miss allowed me to play around with manual settings. I tried to frame the shots so that my head was the furthest line and the camera obsura wasn't fully in shot all of the time. This allowed me to use a technique called viewer space. This technique is where you give the viewer room as if to see what your seeing in the photo. This is effective because it gives the viewer the feeling they can really see into the photo. Furthermore, with the camera obsura phots I tried to do a close up analysis of camera obsura so that the viewer could see the intricate details of the project. I tried to focus the images that my face was in focus and that the background and camera obsura was out of focus. This created a nice blur effect that really captured me and my expressions. This allows the viewer to really feel the photo as it shows them that the face is what is trying to being captured.
DSLR Introduction
My First Photographs
For our settings, I used a 400 ISO, to maintain high quality. We were taking them outside therefore the light levels were quite high resulting in a low ISO. For our program mode, we were told to use the TV setting. This focusing on shutter speed instead of aperture priority. We had the shutter speed on 1/60 the because we were using the cameras in hand instead of a tripod. Our theme was natural vs manmade which was the idea I tried to focus on when taking these photographs.
My DSLR Photos
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed adjusts the amount of light let into the lens and the speed at which it opens and closes. Shutter speeds can very and it depends on what you want to capture. If you want a clear foreground to capture fast movement you would have a faster shutter speed. This means that when you press the button to take the photo the lens allows very little light in and the closes fast. If you want a blurrier foreground to capture a ghost effect you want a slower shutter speed. This means that when you press the button to take the photo the lens allows a lot of light in and waits and then closes.
Set 1
Set 2
Set 3
Unedited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/8th | Aperture= f11.0
Edited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/8th | Aperture= f11.0
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Unedited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/60th | Aperture= f5.0
Edited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/60th | Aperture= f5.0
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Unedited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/320th | Aperture= f4.5
Edited
ISO= 800 | Shutter Speed= 1/320th | Aperture= f4.5
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Levitation
In this task we took some "levitating" photos on a brief. The brief that we had was to try and recreate photos from a Japanese artist called Yowa Yowa. We did this by having a high shutter speed and using some key photographic tips that helped achieve that levitating effect. These tips were to have our feet flat to floor and to remove objects that make it look like a jump instead of levitation. We also used the TV program mode to prioritise the shutter speed. As well as using continuous shooting mode so that we didn't have to worry about timing. This helped us really work on our composition and allowed us to play around with different types of photography. This project made me think outside the box and I definitely felt really creative when doing it.
Here are some examples of Yowa-Yowa's style of "levitating" photography:
My Levitating Photography
Unedited
Edited
Benji Reid
Benji Reid is another photographer that tries to capture this "levitating" effect. He tries to capture the movement through a range of different objects that build up the photos. He likes to use smoke and interesting objects to convey his love of photography through this medium. I really like how he captures the images as if they were captured at the exact precise point. This is my favourite quote from him "There is movement in everything, but there is no drama without dramatic tension, and there is no image without soul".
Here is some examples of his work:
Philippe Halsman
Philippe Halsman was a 20th Century Photographer who liked to photograph the weird and the absurd. He also liked to capture the movement of a jump in mid-air. He photographed cool photos that were of people jumping and I really like the frame he frames the jumps and he always tends to have a nice composition.
Here are some examples of his work:
My response to this brief
Ms Powell has set us a task respond to the levitation project we have been working on recently. We were briefed to recreate some levitating photos in around our homes by using our phones or cameras. I had finishing all of my work so Ms Powell set me to look at other photographers who also use the same effect. Therefore, I thought be it would be cool if I went over and above and not only filled the brief but compared the photographers we've looked at. This makes the brief more interesting because you can not only see my photographic content but also my comparative and English skills to compare. These photographers all use a high shutter speed to construct these images however the creativity and execution of each photographer is very different. So at the end, when I've finished my brief and compared my photographs, I will compare and analysing the similarities and differences between each of the artists and their photographs.
Here is my reponse:
Unedited
Edited
Yowa-Yowa
Benji Reid
Philippe Halsman
Analysis
I really enjoyed this project and it was really cool to perform. I feel really experienced behind a camera and it was fun to perform each of the briefs. I think that the photos turned out really well, however, the Benji Reid photos were the hardest to perform and hence, they don't look that good. I think that it was hard because the way that that were taken were with a mat. It was hard to get that the levitation effect because you have to be quite flexible. I was the youngest therefore that's why I am in them. I liked have the freedom to direct the creative choices in the project because it felt that I was at the driving seat. This is why I like creative projects.
I tried to capture each photographers unique sense of creativity by implementing cool ideas. it was nice to have that inspiration behind the photos because these photographers are very good. I tried to take the sense of a stroke of chaos in a normal scenario that Yowa Yowa uses. This is why I used my mum to portray that chaos that the photos had as the background was just a normal day. As if that levitation didn't belong but no one noticed. I think it portrays how people live in their own bubbles and the world doesn't just stop for each moment. So it's like I've captured a rare event and gone against the status quo to find the absurd and inexplicable things of our world.
With Benji Reid, as I stated it was quite hard to perform these because my mum wasn't the acrobat that we needed. Furthermore, we didn't have the resources to properly perform that Benji Reid effect that you see in his photos. However, we worked with what we had and I liked how it turned out. My original intention was to get my mum to jump horizontally in front of our TV with a remote. I had this idea to capture my mum casually levitating while turning our TV in mid-air. I was trying to capture that sort of nonchalant levitation effect as if it is normal to levitate. I think the way Reid captures this relaxed, every day look is really cool because it captures this effect that everything in the photo is normal and life like. I really enjoyed this part because it was fun trying to get this effect.
Phillipe Halsman style is like you've literally captured the photo at the each perfect timing. I really enjoyed practicing with this style but I didn't enjoy the actual process, mainly because I got soaked. But, it was fun, mostly for my mum, but I did enjoy this style. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I really like how Philppe plays with B/W to get a washed look. It looks like it captures the perfect moment at the precise time. I really enjoyed this because it was dark and it really added to that washed black and white effect.
I tried to capture each photographers unique sense of creativity by implementing cool ideas. it was nice to have that inspiration behind the photos because these photographers are very good. I tried to take the sense of a stroke of chaos in a normal scenario that Yowa Yowa uses. This is why I used my mum to portray that chaos that the photos had as the background was just a normal day. As if that levitation didn't belong but no one noticed. I think it portrays how people live in their own bubbles and the world doesn't just stop for each moment. So it's like I've captured a rare event and gone against the status quo to find the absurd and inexplicable things of our world.
With Benji Reid, as I stated it was quite hard to perform these because my mum wasn't the acrobat that we needed. Furthermore, we didn't have the resources to properly perform that Benji Reid effect that you see in his photos. However, we worked with what we had and I liked how it turned out. My original intention was to get my mum to jump horizontally in front of our TV with a remote. I had this idea to capture my mum casually levitating while turning our TV in mid-air. I was trying to capture that sort of nonchalant levitation effect as if it is normal to levitate. I think the way Reid captures this relaxed, every day look is really cool because it captures this effect that everything in the photo is normal and life like. I really enjoyed this part because it was fun trying to get this effect.
Phillipe Halsman style is like you've literally captured the photo at the each perfect timing. I really enjoyed practicing with this style but I didn't enjoy the actual process, mainly because I got soaked. But, it was fun, mostly for my mum, but I did enjoy this style. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I really like how Philppe plays with B/W to get a washed look. It looks like it captures the perfect moment at the precise time. I really enjoyed this because it was dark and it really added to that washed black and white effect.
Francesa Woodman
What do you think Woodman’s intentions are?
Francesca Woodman intended to create dreamlike environments with interesting and unusual objects. She did this by using ordinary objects and materials such as shells, eels, pegs and mirrors to make an unfamiliar contexts which evokes uncanny feelings. She wanted us to think about how we can transform body parts into distorted and surreal version of themselves.
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What wider context was Woodman addressing?
Woodman was considering how her work was based on the theme of surrealism, because she wanted to reach environments with spaces of fantasy and experimentation in this piece of work. This is shown by the quote where she says “ It’s a matter of convenience, I’m always available.” This is significant because she shows how abstract constructs have a strange way of appearing and that she will be there when they do. She wanted to explore how interesting the world of photography can be when you experiment with unique things. This is what made her so special.
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How does Woodman’s style of photography and process support her intentions?
Woodman used a long shutter speed to create a beauty display of movemnt in her photos. The movemnt and slow shutter speed allows for a cool arc of blur that portrays how movment adds to the photo. This helped her to create the effect of a intereesting expression of emotion that lay behind the photos. It adds a greater meaning to the photos.
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My Francesa Woodman Photos
Unedited
Edited
Aperture
Aperture in photography is how sensitive the camera is to the light. This controls how much exposure the camera has in terms of light. It alos cabn created different depth of fields. This shows how much of your photo is exposed and in focus. Aperture can be really useful for creating a shallow depth of field.
Example:
Depth of Field
Shallow DOF
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Greatest DOF
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Unedited
Edited
Composition
My Best Nine Photos