Work Record 1

Plans for Shoot

For this shoot, I plan to experiment with the topic option 'circles and curves'. This is because I am still indecisive on what topic I will choose for my final project, between 'writing' and 'circles and curves'. In the next work record I will experiment with the topic 'writing', and hopefully I will be able to decide which topic I continue with for my further work and final project.
The shoot for this blog will be recreating my research photographer's work style (from the exam brief) and see if I can excel in this style of work.

Research
Vivian Maier analysis in 'Discussion of exam paper' blog post.
Maier is one of the recommended photographers in the exam brief for the topic circles and curves, so I decided she would be my research and influence for this experiment.
Vivian Dorothy Maier was an American street photographer. Maier worked as a nanny, pursuing photography during her spare time.

Image bank

All these photos are pieces from my research photographer Vivian Maier. I selected these pieces because they best present her work presenting circles and curves. In the majority of these photos, Maier is capturing herself through reflections, she always appears blank in expression and her clothing appears feminine and motherly; this represents her as authoritative with the expression, but empowers her due to her motherly appearance, most probably due to her being a nanny.
I will attempt to recreate her reflections photos with myself, and also plan to find curves in objects and presenting them in different compositions to represent their curves.

Contact sheet

These are all the raw photos for my circles and curves shoot.

Best Photos
These are my best raw photos for this shoot that I selected.

Photos that require improvement

These photos I believe do not represent my work at its best quality and require a composition change. For the first photo, the shutter speed is at 1/50, aperture at F4.5, and exposure at ISO 200; flash was also used to pick up more detail and help the exposure settings be clearer. My main issue with this photo is the amount of negative space is around and how it lacks any real creativity. The photo is of a glass ball so it does fit with circles and curves, hence why I chose it, but I believe now that is just too simple on its own. I used the rule of thirds composition because I believed that a simple ball centred in a photo with nothing around it would've appeared plain and boring, so the rule of thirds added a bit more uniqueness into it. Unfortunately, the photo is still plain and I feel requires more to reach my personal photo standards. If I were to retake this photo, I would incorporate another object into the photo with the ball so there is less negative space and there's more to focus on in the photo. I could've potentially added more glass balls, or circular objects so there's a juxtaposition of sizing and appearance, this could've represented a society symbolism if I had enough objects to make comparisons.

For the second photo, the shutter speed is at 1/50, aperture at F5, and exposure at ISO 200; flash also being used to capture this photo. This photo has the same issues as the first one; the composition leaves the object appearing boring and plain. The object itself isn't very curved either, which draws the photo even further away from my intentions. I once again used the rule of thirds composition but had the angle tilted slightly so the negative space is decreased; this also added a better eye-catching composition. The lack of curvature draws this further away from the topic itself. If I were to retake, I would once again incorporate another object or more with the bottle so some negative space is removed.

AO3: Record ideas, observations and insights relevant to intentions, reflecting critically on work and progress.

My Ideas

My intentions for this shoot was to experiment with the topic circles and curves with the inspiration from photographer Vivian Maier. Maier's work involved curvatures and added real life into the photos; she is always outside and around other people living their lives in her photos, this was an aspect I didn't follow into my recreations. Curvatures in photos create a calming and sometimes sensual atmosphere, Maier's photos always appear relaxed and still in motion. I believe I met these photo intentions, I didn't incorporate the real-life world, but I presented curvatures in different objects and added myself into a few of my photos just like Maier did with hers. I wouldn't say I excelled at this topic though, I could've had better quality with my ideas, and potentially went outside to recreate Maier's work better, but I seem to lack a heavy interest in this style of work.

Reference to best photos

This photo was recreating one of Maier's portrait reflections while presenting the circular/curvatures on the camera and mirror. This I feel was the most direct recreation I made for Maier's work, there is myself captured in the mirror, but the focal point is on my hands and the camera since they represent the most curvatures.

This photo is a closeup of a stretched out slinky, I used this because I felt the constant spiral of a slinky represents circles and curves accurately. The lack of focus in the front area of the spirals creates a suggestion of movement which makes the photo more enticing. 

This photo is a closeup up of the top of a snow globe with bubbles bunched together. The bubbles creating definition and presenting perfect circles, the globe also creating a curve mimicking something similar to the earth.

AO2: Explore and select appropriate resources, media, materials, techniques and processes, reviewing and refining ideas as work develops.

Use of Camera

I used my Nikon D3400 DSLR camera for every photo taken. I felt a tripod wasn't necessary for these photos since I'd be getting close up to the objects and would be experimenting with angles. The camera was set to manual mode, shutter speed at 1/50, aperture varying at F4-6, and exposure at ISO 200; I also used flash since it captured the objects in better quality.

Shoot Process

Since I don't have a studio set up at home, I taped A3 sheets of plain white paper on my dresser to create a white background. I took the photos during the early afternoon so the natural lighting was still bright and similar matching to Maier's outside settings. I found a bunch of different objects that presented circles and curvatures, placed them on the background area and captured them mainly in close-ups to present the curvatures. With the photos including myself, I used my mirror stand and angled it so only myself and the camera can be visible in the mirror frame.

Experimenting
I wanted to test how these photos would appear if I enhanced the colours and vibrancy, as opposed to Maier's original style which is monochrome work.

Firstly, I added an adjustment layer of 'levels' to enhance the exposure appearance, creating a heavier contrast in tone; since the photo originally appears flat in tone.

Secondly, I added an adjustment layer of 'hue/saturation' to develop the colouring in the photo. Initially enhancing the overall saturation and the red and yellow areas of the coins.

I also removed all saturation in the cyan and blue areas, since it is mainly the background and it cancels out the red and yellow areas, weakening them, which I wanted to remove.

This is the photo finished in editing.

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Firstly, I added an adjustment layer of 'levels' to enhance the exposure appearance, creating a heavier contrast in tone; since the photo originally appears flat in tone. This increased the definitions in the petals.

Then, I added an adjustment layer of 'hue/saturation' to enhance the magenta colouring in the petals. This created a higher vibrancy in the photo overall, revealing richer colour in the petals.

This is the photo finished in editing.

Final Pieces

After the experimenting, I decided that following Maier's style of work would better fit the recreation, and that colour was too distracting from the focal point of curves in general. 

Maier's work in simply black and white, but the photos appeared flat in tone and definition. So after turning the photo black and white by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+U, I used an adjustment layer of 'levels' to bring out the white tones lighter and deepen the black tones to create a better contrast and definition.

After doing this, I decided that levels weren't going to bring out specific areas that I wanted, so I used the dodge and burn method. Firstly, creating an adjustment layer of 'curves' with the centre point lifted to increase the white tones overall. I then inverted this by pressing CTRL+I and then added a layer mask that I'll paint over to reveal only in certain places the white tones using a soft brush tool.

Secondly, I added another adjustment layer of 'curves' with the centre point brought down this time to deepen the dark tones in the photo overall. Then once again inverting (CTRL+I) and adding a layer mask to paint overall, darkening places I feel need to be more hidden using a soft brush tool.

Before.

After.

AO1: Develop ideas through sustained and focused investigations informed by contextual and other sources, demonstrating analytical and critical understanding.

My research into Vivian Maier helped me to better understand the effects of circles and curves in photography. They own a calming effect with no real sense of urgency or distortion, the atmosphere always feels completely still. I believe I could potentially excel at circles and curves, and present some abstract styles with the use of body linking with curves.

AO4: Present a personal and meaningful response that realises intentions and, where appropriate, makes connections between visual and other elements. 

I believe I met my intentions for circles and curves, the photos presented exactly that of the topic and showed some form of calming expression. These are my final pieces for circles and curves.

Progression

I didn't enjoy this experiment much, I don't seem to own a creative drive towards this topic. I believe it is a beautiful style and can be presented very professionally sometimes, but I don't believe I will be able to do so. I will move onto experimenting with the topic writing and then decide what I believe will best fit my final project.

Photographer Research - Nancy Hellebrand

Nancy Hellebrand

Nancy Hellebrand’s early interest in photography was almost entirely motivated by a sense of social justice. Over time her photos became less content-dependent and more abstract, though they continued to be driven by her hunger for human understanding and intimate beauty.
Hellebrand's work inspires the most simple interpretation possible to take with the topic 'writing', she presents the literal presentation of writing and it's different styles from Hellebrand's teaching years at Yale University.

Photo One

This piece presents what I can only assume to be a symbol; since it doesn't appear to be any letter. There is no other forms of writing around this symbol, leaving a lot of negative space, but there is some inky border around the frame of the photo; this creates a more authentic appearance of natural writing. The symbol appears to be written in biro, suggested by the fainter areas of ink being patchy where the person has obviously had to slightly lift the pen while writing; this can create a formal atmosphere, associating biro with business themes typically in societal norms. Furthermore, the link with formality, the symbol itself could suggest an intellect, linking the symbol with maths, or science, academic subjects that people invest in; the symbol could represent a certain formula, or a value. This suggestion creates a power change, making the viewer intimidated by the lack of understanding towards the symbol, like they are inferior to whoever wrote this. The texture created by the faint ink patches in corners and slight static appearance from the appearance, makes the photo eye-catching; if without this texture, the photo would appear more digitally made and would be more bland.

Photo Two

This piece presents a few what I can assume words in joined together handwriting; the words are so simply curved that it is almost impossible to make out what they say. There's a lot of negative space around, but there appears to be writing on the paper behind also, revealing the worlds faintly, almost like shadows. The words behind the paper suggests history, since it shows the paper that's written on is worn out, revealing things behind, also suggesting that this paper is used a lot; possibly interpreting this piece as a section of a diary. The handwriting appears elegant and conveys fragility with its simple curving and perfection of joining the letters, suggesting this is a women's writing since women are typically linked with beautiful handwriting because they were raised to be elegant in presentation. The two words next to each other appear similar, suggesting they are the same word, just repeated; this can convey distress to whoever wrote this, or practice and focus, like they are trying to remember this word. The lettering hidden behind the paper adds a shadowing texture that suggests the paper is old and worn out, this creates a natural, comforting atmosphere since people can link this to nostalgia, a bittersweet feeling. The lack of faint areas of ink in the writing conveys the writer was hard on the paper when writing, which can suggest an aggression or urgency when writing these words.

Photo Three

This piece presents what I once again assume is symbols. The paper is smudged with I can assume ink, suggesting the paper to be used heavily which can link with hard work. The first symbol (left) appears rushed due to the very faint ink area above it that links with it and how patchy the ink is on the symbol in general, suggesting there being a speed when the pen was dragged across the paper. The other two symbols (middle, right) are a lot more fine lined, suggesting they were written in a slower speed or more heavy handed. These symbols seem less mathematical and academic than the symbol in the first photo, the curvature in the line makes it appear more artistic and more like scribbles rather than symbols. There doesn't seem to be any formality within this photo due to the messy presentation overall in this persons writing and quality of paper. Nonetheless, the photo appears educationally linked, and that suggestion is supported with Hellebrand explaining this was during her teaching years.

Photo Four

This piece is a heavy closeup of simply letters written on lined paper. The handwriting in this photo is very messy, shown in the disproportions in how the letters are written. This appears to actually be written in pencil rather than pen due to the faint ears being less patchy and more rough like pencil lead would present. The writing is heavy handed also, shown by the dark chalky appearance on the letter 'R'. The 'R' is presented twice in this photo, and a letter 'D' is also cut off, Hellebrand has presented four different closeup sections in this photo and window arranged them, almost masking it as one full photo. It is unclear on why Hellebrand did this, she could of just wanted to present specific letters this person has written because they present the most character, and believed the other letters weren't necessary to present. The messy handwriting and heavy handed way, while with a pencil, suggests a child wrote these letters, since pencil writing in most cultures, is considered to be for children and they then move onto writing in pen when their handwriting has improved or they move into high/secondary school. The letters are also not aligned with the lines given on this paper, removing any formality and suggesting really abnormality; breaking out of the social norms metaphorically. 

Overall…

I believe the simplicity of Hellebrand's work is very powerful for interpretation, Hellebrand seems to just give you these markings on paper and lets you take it in anyway you want. The use of writing allows an artist to be very abstract if they wanted, and you can be simple in your composition while still enticing the viewer and making them think, rather than just looking at a 'powerful' photo. I believe Hellebrand's work will inspire me to further my presentation of literal writing and gain a better understanding of saying 'less is more' with my work.

Discussion of exam paper

Writing
Words have been an inspiration for photographers and filmmakers, for both their appearance and meaning. Nancy Hellebrand's close-up black and white photographs of handwriting are abstract studies of very personal linear forms. The posters by Jacques Mahé de la Villeglé are created from printed lettering that is combined and juxtaposed in torn layers. The title sequence for Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire shows poetry in the process of bring written with pen and ink, in contrast to the credits which appear as chalk on blackboards.

 

Definitions

Abstract:

Adjective - relating to or denoting art that does not attempt to represent external reality, but rather seeks to achieve its effect using shapes, colours, and textures

Verb - extract or remove (something).

Linear:

Adjective - progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential.

Juxtaposed:

Noun - the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Contrast:

Noun - the state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition or close association.

Nancy Hellebrand
Nancy Hellebrand’s early interest in photography was almost entirely motivated by a sense of social justice. Over time her photos became less content-dependent and more abstract, though they continued to be driven by her hunger for human understanding and intimate beauty.

Circles and Curves
Many photographers and artists have used circles or curves to produce imaginative and powerful work. Josef Sudek photographed shells, eggs, glasses and balls chosen for their distinctive shapes and forms, in his series of still-life arrangements. Round hats, mirrors and lenses act as frames or focal points in the portraits of Vivian Maier. Yoyoi Kusama has used complex and intense patterns of dots and spots to produce startling installations.

 

Defintions

Imaginative:

Adjective - having or showing creativity or inventiveness.

Powerful:

Adjective - having control and influence over people and events.

                - having a strong effect on people's feelings or thoughts.

Distinctive:

Adjective - characteristic of one person or thing, and so serving to distinguish it from others.

Form:

Noun - the visible shape or configuration of something.

          - style, design, and arrangement in an artistic work as distinct from its content.

Still-life:

Noun - a painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects, typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware.

Vivian Maier

Vivian Dorothy Maier was an American street photographer. Maier worked as a nanny, pursuing photography during her spare time.