My starting point: 'Openings'I have selected the theme of 'Openings' as my starting point for the set task. I picked Openings as my theme because I think that it's a bit of a challenge and something I've never done before. I also think that I can experiment with this theme in lots of different ways.
I am going to be looking at the following photographers:
Sub Themes
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I find Dragan Todorovic's photography interesting because in a lot of ways his images are quite simple, however because of the angle and lighting it makes the photos look very unique and, because of the lighting, the photos almost look more like something out of a story book.
My response to Dragan Todorovic
I attempted to take a photo like Dragan Todorovic.
The photo is quite difficult to see as it is very dark, however I think that the photo worked quite well.
The photo is quite difficult to see as it is very dark, however I think that the photo worked quite well.
I then edited the photo like the photos above. I first changed the photo to black and white, It changed the photo quite differently, I think that it made the photo a lot more dramatic and changed the feeling and vibe of the photo. By taking away all the colour, the image has a feeling of emptiness.
I then changed the photo to a slightly blue tint (again like one of the photos I used as an example of his work). I think that it makes the colours outside of the window a lot more vibrant. Not only this but it also gives the person an aura and makes their outline more visible. The colours in the foreground are very dark however beyond that is a world full of color, it's like the person is hidden away from the outside that's full of life, colour and happieness and is stuck in darkness and loneliness. |
My pinterest:
This is my pinterest for the theme openings. Many of them are photos by Dragan todorovic and Lee Friedlander.
A slideshow of a variety of openings that I have taken.
Gallery 1
I used a piece of paper and cut a hole in the picture. I then put it in front of something and took a picture using an ipod touch.
One photo that I really like.
I really like this photo because I think that the centre of the image is very eye catching. I took this picture by ripping a hole through the middle of a piece of paper and then I took pictures through the hole. Because the paper is so dark it really emphasises the image in the centre. The image is slightly edited to enhance the colour because the quality of the iPod wasn't very good.
I think that this image is very detailed and is also quite dramatic considering the photo itself is quite simple yet there is lots to it.
One photo that I didn't like
I don't really think that this photo worked very well.
I think that the colours of the bin in the foreground are quite nice as there are purples and greens etc that all fade into each other. However I don't think that the view through the opening is very interesting.
I think that this photo would work better if rather then just taking the image of anything, have something going on.
For example; it could be a repetition of bins all alined so that the openings in the bin just show another bin and then another and another etc. Or maybe have something dramatic going on in the background or something different.
I think that the colours of the bin in the foreground are quite nice as there are purples and greens etc that all fade into each other. However I don't think that the view through the opening is very interesting.
I think that this photo would work better if rather then just taking the image of anything, have something going on.
For example; it could be a repetition of bins all alined so that the openings in the bin just show another bin and then another and another etc. Or maybe have something dramatic going on in the background or something different.
Using the DSLR
Openings through paper and other objects.
Gallery 2
Evaluation:I think that this set worked really well because it was very different to anything I've seen or tried. I used a long piece of card with different shaped and sized holes in it and one side of the card was a reflected material. I also cut out a small square of red transparent paper. I really enjoyed taking these photos because I had never done it before and the photos came out really distorted but I think it worked well. I used a DSLR to take these photos.
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These are some of the photos that I think are good:
I really like this photo above because its quite weird. I folded the card so that a small hole would open up into the card but also reflect back. I wasn't sure what the image would look like but I think that it has worked really well.
Using the reflected side of the card and taking a picture through a rectangle opening. This is one of my favourite pictures because I really like how the opening is in the lens of the camera.
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I like this photo because in some ways it looks like the people in focus in the background are reflected but they're actually straight ahead. There was a small rectangular opening in a corner of the card and this was one of the photos that I took. I find this photo quite strange because it's difficult to tell where everything is coming from.
I really like this photo because the reflection is reflecting the same image but from different angles. I also like what you see through the opening because it's not really clear and could be anything. The specs on the window also make the image quite nice. I like it because the opening is almost like a blank canvas that could be made into anything.
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Next idea...My next idea is to take a series of photos of a flower opening. I will need to take a picture of the flower at least everyday if not more and try to keep the camera in the same place.
PlanI am slightly worried about the lighting as that may change the photo and ruin it. Also because I am at school for most of the day I am worried that the flower may grow within that time.
However my plan is to take a picture of the flower 2 times a day: 1. In the morning. 2. After school. I will take 2 photos everyday until the flower has fully grown. I am also going to put my camera on a tripod and try to keep it in the same position through out the process. |
Here is a time lapse video of a rose opening.
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Result:
SlideShow
Gif
For the Gif I used only 5 images from the series to show a quick time lapse of the process.
I think that in a lot of ways this idea did work well because the photos do show the gradual change in the flower growing.
However two of the big problems were the lighting and the angles.
Because the flower needed natural light to grow, I couldn't have much control on the lighting and so in some of the photos the lighting varies. The angles of the photos were also quite difficult. I knew that this would be an issue from the start and tried my best to keep the camera in the exact same position each time. I used a tripod and made sure everyone knew not to touch the camera or move anything around it however I have cats and so every so often the tripod had moved slightly. (This may have been due to them bumping into it). Not only this but the flower moves around and so as it grows it goes to the other side of the vase. This made it much more difficult to make a series of images (like a time lapse).
Overall I do think that this series of images did work.
However two of the big problems were the lighting and the angles.
Because the flower needed natural light to grow, I couldn't have much control on the lighting and so in some of the photos the lighting varies. The angles of the photos were also quite difficult. I knew that this would be an issue from the start and tried my best to keep the camera in the exact same position each time. I used a tripod and made sure everyone knew not to touch the camera or move anything around it however I have cats and so every so often the tripod had moved slightly. (This may have been due to them bumping into it). Not only this but the flower moves around and so as it grows it goes to the other side of the vase. This made it much more difficult to make a series of images (like a time lapse).
Overall I do think that this series of images did work.
Final idea
I have thought about lots of different things I could do for the theme openings and I think that the ones I have tried have worked well. For my final idea I am going to use bottles. My idea is to use different glass bottles and take a picture of flowers through them. Flowers are quite a cliche thing to take photos of however I want to take that basic idea and change it, by taking photos of them through bottles I think it will distort the flowers and change them.
My initial idea was going to be 'The world through bottles'. I wanted to take pictures of anything through bottles like streets or fields or buildings however when I tried this it didn't work. The problem with taking photos of anything through a bottle is that it doesn't pick anything up. A bottle is already distorted anyway and is never completely clear and so when you look through a bottle of just anything, there's not much to see.
On the right is a photo where I tried to take a picture of a blossom tree, like the photo below. This is what made me decide to take photos of flowers close up because they are vibrant and full of texture and that's what bottles pick up best.
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The photo is quite bright however when looking through a bottle it doesn't pick any of that up. I attempted with lots of different bottles and none worked. Not even a completely clear one.
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First attempt:
My first attempt was to just experiment and see how the photos look. I think that some of the photos worked really well and even though they are abstract, it works. I used a wine glass bottle and a plastic water bottle. I took the photos using a DSLR.
Evaluation:
I think that each photo in this gallery worked considering it was a first attempt. I think that two photos for me personally that worked well were these two:
I also really like this image too because even though the colours are just green, there are lots of different tones and shades and I think it makes the photo look very bright.
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I really like both of these images because the colours really stand out. The photo above is of a red tulip however because the glass distorts it all you really see is colour however I think that this works because it is a vibrant and bright photo and stands out.
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I will be using 4 different bottles.
With the brown and green clear bottle they both have labels on them, I did try to peal them off however they wont budge. Luckily they don't cause too much of a problem as I was afraid that they may block lots of the light out however they don't.
(To see any of the photos bigger, just click on them) |
First set
These 4 images are of a blossom through each bottle. Each bottle makes the photo look slightly different.
I really like this set because not only is the flower bright but the colours reflect around the bottle as well.
I think this set was one of the the ones that worked best because the colour is vibrant in each photo and the flower stands out. I also think that this set compared to the others, shows the flower more clearly. I also think that this set shows a lot of texture, not only from the flowers but also from the bottles. Some of the bottles like the brown one show the flower really clearly and show all the shadows and texture from it.
I think that this worked well and because the flower was already star shaped, the bottle enhances that and distorts it which I think is quite eye catching.
I really like this set, I think that each photo works well and rather then focusing on one individual flower, this set has a group of small flowers and I think that works because the colour is sporadic in the blur of the bottles rather then just one big blur of colour in the center.
Below, is of the same flower however these photos have been taken slightly further away to show how it changes the actual flower.
Below, is of the same flower however these photos have been taken slightly further away to show how it changes the actual flower.
Presenting it..I'm not entirely sure how I am going to mount and present this piece as there are so many images.
My first idea is to try and layer all of the bottled images in one of sets and put them over the original photo. To do this I am going to use photoshop. My other idea was to just print off all of the sets and mount them, but I don't think this will work only because there are a lot of photos. 2). I then used a tool to highlight the whole photo. |
1). The first thing I did was get one of the bottled photos, because the image was the same size as the original image, I resized the image to 550 in width and 367 in height.
3).I did this so that I could copy the whole photo onto the original photo. 4). Once the photo was on top of the original photo, I resized the photo slightly as it was still too big as none of the other photos would fit on properly. I did this by pressing 'command t'. This gives you the option to enlarge or make the photo smaller. |
I then did this to all of the photos in this particular set and made sure all the photos were the same size.
I did this to all of the sets of photos.
I didn't use all the sets because I think these 4 are enough as they are all different colours, the set I didn't use is also red and I think that would ruin it slightly.
I didn't use all the sets because I think these 4 are enough as they are all different colours, the set I didn't use is also red and I think that would ruin it slightly.
2nd idea for final piece..
My second idea is of another type of openings. I think that this idea can be interpreted in different ways but I see it as an opening because its almost like the reflection is a portal. This is not a definite final piece however is an idea and not all the photos may be used necessarily depending on how I might display them.
I am going to use the top 3 images and lay them out onto a big piece of card.
Final Evaluation
For unit 2 I decided to choose the theme 'Openings'. I chose this theme because it's something different and something I had never heard of before. When I first saw the theme openings, I wasn't entirely sure what it meant. My first idea of openings were things like archways or doorways, I wasn't really sure on what else I could do for openings because I wasn't thinking beyond the obvious. However after more research I realised that so many things are openings like a flower or even a camera. It was quite difficult to find photographers that did similar things to the theme I was doing because openings has such a wide range of different things.
Dragan Todorovic was one of the photographers I looked up most and got a lot of my ideas from. I also looked up photographers such as Lee Friedlander both whom have very different styles of photography. I have tried lots of different styles of openings like a flower opening or an opening through a piece of material or an abstract opening like a puddle. I feel that after all of my research and attempts at openings I have finally got some final pieces that I am happy with.
I have researched the photographers I mentioned, I also researched Andreas Gurksky however I didn't really like his style of photography. A lot of his photography was lots of bright colours and lots of repeating and this wasn't really the type of photography I wanted to do. Out of all of the photographers I looked at, I really liked Dragan Todorovic because his photography was quite mysterious and different. Most of his photos have un-natural lighting or have been darkened and I think that they could almost be telling a story. The colour and the light used in his photos are quite abstract. A lot of the photography that I was thinking of doing was all along the same lines of being abstract. I also realised that one of the photographers I looked at from Unit 1 also did photography to do with openings, this photographer was Uta Barth, in unit 1 she was one of the main photographers I looked at for abstraction. A lot of her photography involves windows and views outside of them. Another big part of her photography is the lighting and the focus/blur. Each photographer that I looked at gave me more ideas for what I could possibly do for my final piece and gave me more knowledge on what things involve openings.
For my work I have used two cameras, a DSLR and an ipod touch. I used the ipod touch for my first set of photos, using paper as an opening. I used a ipod touch for this particular set because I could change the effects of the photos. Also the ipod touch is a lot easier to use as I have more flexibility to change the angle of the camera because it is much lighter in weight. I find that DSLRs are much better in a lot of ways but because they are heavier they are not so easy to move around in the position you want. For the rest of my pictures I used a DSLR, this is because I wanted the option to focus or blur out certain aspects of the things I was taking pictures of. I've also used photoshop to change the way my pictures look. For one of my finale piece (the flowers and bottles) I used photoshop to layer the images over the original. I wasn't entirely sure that it would work or look good but I think that it turned out well. Throughout this whole unit I have used lots of different materials such as paper, card, bottles etc. All of my photos that I have taken with these materials have changed them a lot.
I have been keeping my tumblr blog up to date with all of my school photography or school related. I have also used it to post my own personal pictures or reblog pictures related to what I am studying. My weebly is my more informative site where there is a lot more detail and explanations and evaluations for the pictures I take or the research I am making and this is the main site I have been using. I have kept these sites both up to date. I have tried to make sure that my weebly is easy to use and has lots of different ways of presenting my work. I have used a combination of galleries, slideshows, textposts and links.
Dragan Todorovic was one of the photographers I looked up most and got a lot of my ideas from. I also looked up photographers such as Lee Friedlander both whom have very different styles of photography. I have tried lots of different styles of openings like a flower opening or an opening through a piece of material or an abstract opening like a puddle. I feel that after all of my research and attempts at openings I have finally got some final pieces that I am happy with.
I have researched the photographers I mentioned, I also researched Andreas Gurksky however I didn't really like his style of photography. A lot of his photography was lots of bright colours and lots of repeating and this wasn't really the type of photography I wanted to do. Out of all of the photographers I looked at, I really liked Dragan Todorovic because his photography was quite mysterious and different. Most of his photos have un-natural lighting or have been darkened and I think that they could almost be telling a story. The colour and the light used in his photos are quite abstract. A lot of the photography that I was thinking of doing was all along the same lines of being abstract. I also realised that one of the photographers I looked at from Unit 1 also did photography to do with openings, this photographer was Uta Barth, in unit 1 she was one of the main photographers I looked at for abstraction. A lot of her photography involves windows and views outside of them. Another big part of her photography is the lighting and the focus/blur. Each photographer that I looked at gave me more ideas for what I could possibly do for my final piece and gave me more knowledge on what things involve openings.
For my work I have used two cameras, a DSLR and an ipod touch. I used the ipod touch for my first set of photos, using paper as an opening. I used a ipod touch for this particular set because I could change the effects of the photos. Also the ipod touch is a lot easier to use as I have more flexibility to change the angle of the camera because it is much lighter in weight. I find that DSLRs are much better in a lot of ways but because they are heavier they are not so easy to move around in the position you want. For the rest of my pictures I used a DSLR, this is because I wanted the option to focus or blur out certain aspects of the things I was taking pictures of. I've also used photoshop to change the way my pictures look. For one of my finale piece (the flowers and bottles) I used photoshop to layer the images over the original. I wasn't entirely sure that it would work or look good but I think that it turned out well. Throughout this whole unit I have used lots of different materials such as paper, card, bottles etc. All of my photos that I have taken with these materials have changed them a lot.
I have been keeping my tumblr blog up to date with all of my school photography or school related. I have also used it to post my own personal pictures or reblog pictures related to what I am studying. My weebly is my more informative site where there is a lot more detail and explanations and evaluations for the pictures I take or the research I am making and this is the main site I have been using. I have kept these sites both up to date. I have tried to make sure that my weebly is easy to use and has lots of different ways of presenting my work. I have used a combination of galleries, slideshows, textposts and links.
My first Final PieceI am really happy with how this piece came out, when I first had this idea there were definitely things I wouldn't of thought of doing that I have done now, like using photoshop or placing them on the original image. I think that this piece is abstract and different and turned out better then I thought it would.
What I would change next time..If I was to do this piece again I would probably have more of a variety of bottles to change the photos even more and see how each bottle can change the photo. I would also try different objects not just flowers and see what else works well. I think I would also see what I could do with photoshop, maybe changing the colours or making the colours more vibrant and maybe even overlapping the pictures and blending them together. I think I would also use different lenses because then I can be more flexible with the zoom. Also, when these pictures are displayed I would like them to have a white background so that the colours stand
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- My second final piece is looking through a puddle. I decided that I wanted to use this as one of my final pieces because I thought it was different and was a type of opening. This was never an idea I had, I was just taking pictures and noticed that this picture could be a type of opening. A puddle is almost like a portal. I also think that this photo is abstract because the reflection is a little bit distorted. I think that this photo has a sense of mystery to it as well. This is what reminds me of the photos that Todorovic has taken because his photos are mysterious and also have silhouettes and this photo has that too. I wasn't sure if I was going to use these photos as a final piece but I decided that they would work well and could make a good final piece. I took these pictures with an ipad. I really like these images because they were not planned or expected and they turned out really well and I think they make a really good example of openings. I think that there is also some texture in these images, the water looks really smooth however the silhouettes are a little bit distorted as well as the trees and I think this makes the photos quite strange but it works well.
If I was to do these photos again I think that I would change the angle of them and see how that changes the photos, I would also change the colours even more and see how different the photos would look or if it would make them more abstract. Another thing I would also do is try adding ripples to the photos and see how that changes the image. I would also like to place these images on a white background because I think it would make the photos look neater.
I think that again, this shows different ways of interpreting openings.
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My idea for my first final piece was to take pictures through bottles. My initial idea was going to be of things like streets or buildings through bottles. I thought that it would almost be like a fish eye lens and make the photo really abstract. However this idea didn't work because the problem was that the bottles are already slightly distorted and blurred. This meant that looking at just anything through the bottles isn't always clear. This was what made me take photos of flowers through bottles because they are very bright and bold. The bottles not only distort the object but they show the texture of it too. In many of my photos the texture of some of the flowers were really clear.
Once all the photos were taken I wasn't very sure on how I would present the images, I'd had lots of ideas but none were very good, my first idea was to just mount all the pictures but because there were so many I would only be able to choose a few and I wanted to use most of them. My next idea was to place all the pictures onto the original photo of the flower, I did this by using photoshop. I wasn't extremely sure whether this idea would work or not however I was really happy with the end result. I was worried that the colours of the photos would just clash but they worked nicely and are eye catching. I never really had trouble with the lighting because I took all of these photos at the same day around the same time.
For my third and final piece I decided to use one of my first sets for openings, this was the openings through the paper. I wanted to use this as a final piece because it's another abstract set which would work well with my other final pieces. I also like these particular photos because they are all very eye catching. When I first took this set it wasn't really planned, I didn't know what the photos would be or what the the objects or scenes through the openings would be nor how the photos would actually look. However for a first try I was really pleased with them. At first I wasn't entirely sure what photos to use because they are all quite different and unique in their own way, anyhow I chose these 3 particular pictures because I find them very abstract and think that they would look good together. What I would change next time..If I was going to do this set next time there would be some things I would change to improve it.
One of the first things I would change is the camera I used, for these pictures I used an Ipod touch and even though in a lot of ways this made it much easier to take certain pictures, the quality wasn't great. To change this I would either use a more modern type of mobile photography as the particular Ipod I used is an older model, this way I could still have the flexibility to move the camera into certain places or angles to get the shots I want but have much better quality images or I would use a DSLR as these give much better quality photos however because they are bigger and heavier it would restrict what photos I could take. I did take some photos similar to these using the DSLR however it was more difficult to take the pictures I wanted especially on my own because it is hard to balance the paper in the right place and the camera. |
I am really pleased with the outcomes of all of these pieces. I think that they show openings in a way that is different and eye catching. Since the start of unit 2, I have learned a lot and developed my skills in this theme and topic. I am satisfied with the way I have worked this unit as I have worked hard and I think that it has paid off. I look forward to having my pictures displayed near the end of the year.