pwatkinsimagelab: December 2011

Week 1 - Pinhole cameras

Justin Quinnel was introduced to the class in our first week. He helped us to create our pinhole cameras and gave us a demonstration on how to use them. Justin’s variety of experimentation with pinhole cameras showed an inspiration into the variation of ways to capture an image without a lens.

Justin Quinnel

Once we had set up our pinhole cameras they were ready to be used. He helped us to get an idea of the different kinds of pictures we could take and also how long to expose them for in certain types of light. We then created our own image to see how well we were able to figure out the length of exposure time needed.

my beer can pinhole camera

my negative and positive image - gone wrong

The image has been underexposed. To produce this image again I would have to expose the paper for a bit longer to get a better quality of the image.

my negative and positive image

With this image I was trying to create a sense of the camera being the food she was eating, to make the audience feel like they were apart of the image just as she was. If I was to do it again I would bring the camera up a bit more because then you would feel more in the picture.

Sources

Pinhole photography by Justin Quinnell. 2011. Pinhole photography by Justin Quinnell. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.pinholephotography.org/ [Accessed 20th October & 18th October 2011]

Week 2 - Pinhole cameras

Eric Renner

Eric Renner portrait image

Eric Renner 'Sun, Moon, Clouds and Water'

The first image is from his work ‘portraits’ where he did a big series on people in different places. He took the pictures from different angles and different body positions. The second and third image comes from a series called ‘Sun, Moon, Clouds and Water’. I love the lines and the different textures on the images and how he has taken the image so close up it makes you think which category out of the four he mentions do they come under.

my negative and positive pinhole image

After researching Renner’s work I noticed that this pinhole image I took reminded me of his series ‘Sun, Moon, Clouds and Water’ because of the textures and the light streaming through the trees. I was trying to create a mystery, looking through the leaves and wandering what was beyond them.

Katie Cooke

Katie Cooke portrait

This image looks like she is trying to show the movement of her having a cigarette. Her expression makes you wander what she is thinking, it looks as though she is trying to create an expression of sadness or loneliness. All these images are of herself, maybe because it was easier to shoot herself or because she felt alone and so incorporated those emotions into her pictures.

Katie Cooke portrait

“Using an empty box with no mechanics or lens, my photographs are a slow, quiet conversation between camera and subject. Each image is an act of faith, chemistry & magic.”

Katie’s work was based on movement through a portrait image. She was interested in how a split movement on a single expression can change an image and so she captured this with a series of portraits of herself. She spoke about how she was interested in showing images of how we see people; “Perhaps it’s closer to what a portrait painter would do: watch very closely for a long time, and make one image that hols all the important parts, the impression or memory of their face.”

my negative and positive pinhole image
looking through a bike wheel onto the street

Cooke’s work showed a great inspiration into how she captured movement through a portrait. I felt this image showed a connection in terms of she was trying to capture stillness but for something different. My image shows the centre of the bicycle wheel yet turns the straight wired lines into curves giving the image a more mysterious effect to it.

Sources

Eric Renner. 2011. Eric Renner. [ONLINE] Available at:http://ericrennerphoto.com/home.html [Accessed on 16th October 2011]

slowlight - pinhole photography by katie cooke. 2011. slowlight - pinhole photography by katie cooke. [ONLINE] Available at:http://slowlight.net/. [Accessed 16th October 2011]

Week 3 - Flatbed scanners

Week three gave us the opportunity to use flatbed scanners. We were asked to bring in a variety of objects from our weekend and were then given the chance to play around with the scanners to produce some scanography.

1st experimental scan

Here is my first scan I produced where I put all my objects onto the scanner in no particular order. I didn’t want to create a particular image I just wanted to see how the image would turn out and then from this scan I could analyse the objects and re arrange them in a way that meant more of a meaning. First I felt the image was too clustered. There was too much going on and there was nothing you could really focus on. Secondly I found some of the smaller, more important objects were being overshadowed by the larger objects.

2nd experimental scan

From the first scan I decided to try and re arrange the objects in a more meaningful way by putting most of the objects in a grid type format because myself as a person is known to be organised and sufficient and so the grid format helps to represent that. I however feel that the objects should either be all scattered or all placed neatly next to each other because it shows more meaning and that a lot more thought has been put into it.

Gilbert & George

A video by Gilbert and George was shown to us as part of week 3. A lot of their work portrayed themselves, exposing themselves to an extent of self-humiliation.

Gilbert & George's early work

I think with the image above they were trying to create a statement of shock. These words are commonly used in verbal abuse and are not an appropriate form of language to the majority of people. However, Gilbert and George knowing this I think decided to incorporate these images of 'dirty' words into their work to create this element of shock and in a way a distraction for people to then look at the images.

" we want to be completely outside with - whatyoucall - hooligans and tramps "

Gilbert & George's early work

Kenneth Tynan said 'fuck' on BBC in 1965 which I think triggered off Gilbert and George to then put words like that into their work because of the response and publicity of it, they wanted the lime light also. They were trying to show the reality of life and to stop us from 'sleepwalking' in our own perfect world when really it wasn't. The way they presented the images in a gallery also at such large scale and close together was so that we would flash across the images and they would then imprint into our brains and have an effect on them.

Gilbert & George's early work - Four knights 1980

I found this image a lot easier to look at. I think they were trying to get us to match up the coloured heads across the top with the images below them. The boys body language is informal and so not matching up to the title of the work. Maybe wanting to create this to show a contrast between them and the title.

Gallery of Gilbert and George's work

Sources

Gilbert and George's Dirty Words Pictures. Serpentine Gallery | The Guardian 2011. Gilbert and George's Dirty Words Pictures. Serpentine Gallery | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2002/jun/11/artsfeatures.gilbertandgeorge. [Accessed 19th October 2011]

Google Images. 2011. Google Images. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.google.com/imghp. [Accessed 19th October 2011]

Gilbert and George. G G. 2007. Gilbert & George Major Exhibition TATE MODERN . 1st ed. Milbank, London: Tate publishing

Week 4 - Flatbed scanners

Robert Flemming

Robert Flemming - Sheltered

This image shows connotations of Autumn. It looks like he was creating a sense of warmth to the image with all the objects wrapped together with a deep background. He was trying to create the image so that it felt like you were there walking through a forest and finding these objects there, a sense of reality.

Robert Flemming - Laramie Rose

" My images are in many ways more like paintings than photographs"

Fleming experimented with everything and then developed this by using surreal backgrounds. He says how his images are like paintings, yet a painter has to see something to produce an image. Scanography is all in the mind which you create yourself. It shows a different perspective to things when creating an image.

J. Seeley

J.Seeley - bookmask

J.Seeley - glovebook

The image above makes me think of someone saying hands off. Not wanting anyone to look inside the book. The numbers down the sides may be the number of days like a diary, hence the gloves on top to show a sense of privacy.

At first Seeley just piled objects onto the scanner where he said they started to "become a part of an inverted still life composition". He played around with layers, colours and lighting. The objects are things he has collected himself. His images are personal and he can relate to them in a way no one else can. They show a mystery to the audience and so you can create many ideas behind them.

my final scan image

I feel it shows more of a meaning compared to the other two. The objects I chose represent me right now and so it signify's a meaning. As a whole I feel my scan doesn't give off an immediate reaction to what I am trying to say. The patterned image doesn't show exactly what the object really is, yet it gives the scan a mystery and representing an aspect of me. A lot of the other images such as the playing card and the yellow ticket show me as a student but they are represented also in a more of an anonymous way.

Gallery of students scans - James Robinson's image

The image above shows a variety of scans that were put up in the gallery. We all had a good look around and saw a great variety of scanography showing different combinations of objects and effects used.

Sources

sconography - scannography - ScanArt - Scanner Art. 2011. scanography - scannography - ScanArt - Scanner Art. [ONLINE] Available at:http://scannography.org/. [Accessed 11th November 2011]

Robert Fleming - scanography - scannography - ScanArt - Scanner Art. 2011. Robert Fleming- scanography - scannography - ScanArt - Scanner Art. [ONLINE] Available at:http://scannography.org/artists/Fleming-Robert.html. [Accessed 11th November 2011]

J. Seeley - scanography - ScanArt - Scanner Art. 2011. J. Seeley - scanography - scannography - ScanArt. [ONLINE] Available at: http:/scannography.org/artists/Seeley-J.html. [Accessed 11th November 2011]

Gallery image - friend - James Robinson (with permission)

Week 5 - Narrative

During week five we discussed narrative. What is narrative? "Narrative is a structure that helps define content and form. This can be applied to story, prose, poetry, music, painting, photography and any other form of visual art." Narrative is something we as photographers use to create a meaning behind our images. Something that helps to understand the image. Although the photograph we take can mean something specific to us, it can come across as something different to someone else.

During this class we were shown the end scene from the film 'Donnie Darko' where we had to watch carefully and look for devices used in the film to portray a narrative.

Through the beginning of the scene I feel the grid format is trying to break up the picture so that it starts to separate the images, helping you to figure out what is going on.

As the plane crashes into his room you start to think about how all the slow motion pictures, fireworks and voice overs start to link into him dying and maybe how they were showing a warning of his death coming in the next scene, or maybe the fireworks were symbolising a celebration of death, that Donnie was finally free from this evil rabbit type creature that was controlling him.

The scanning of people with the music on top has been produced to relate to the actions going on in the scene, the quiet, gentle music helps the audience to know how the characters are feeling and helps us to understand what is going on in the picture. The last part to the scene scans across the family with a pause on each character in between to emphasise how are they feeling and we can react on that.

Sources

Moving On After Donnie Darko - YouTube. 2011. Moving On After Donnie Darko - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?vAif8Rfg9EzQ. [Accessed 23rd November 2011]

Narrative quote - Mycourse - Image lab - Week 5 - Narrative word document

Week 6 - Paris

During week 6 I ventured off to Paris with the course to explore the wonders of Paris. We went for 5 days where we explored The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Catacombs, Paris Photo and more.

The Eiffel Tower - Paris

One exhibition which I really liked was Photoquai Branly. This exhibition was presented on the banks of the Seine River and also into the garden of the Quai Branly Museum. It is also shown at the Eiffel Tower.

Some of the class looking around the Photoquai Branly museum

CHINE - Yue LIU - Mountain Blossom 2007
(image of exhibition taken by myself)

When first looking at the image of course you see a variety of mountains on a clear sky but looking individually they aren't mountains but some sort of patterned quilt. Maybe showing a sense of life. Only showing the tip of the mountain quilt and showing a lot of the sky shows maybe someones childhood with all the bright colours, going back to the past to show what was good in his life.

This image was shown on the river side of the exhibition. I love this image, I think it shows a lot of creative thought and how they have presented it shows a great quality to the work. The pastel colours all blend in well together and your eyes scan through the images easily looking at them both individually and together as one image.

"The quilt took on colours and floral motifs in a symbolic reflection of an entire people's aspirations towards a better life" Lui says how the mountain blossoms helps to symbolise the quilt of his childhood. I think meaning comfort and warmth from China.

One of the individual images
Copied from Photoquai website

One of our projects whilst in Paris was to choose a picture from a photographer found at the Paris Photo exhibition which we would then find out the processes of ready for our next image lab session.

my selected image for the image process

Image taken outside entrance of Paris Photo

Sources

presentation - Photoquai 2011. presentation - Photoquai 2011. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.photoquai.fr/fr/2011/presentation.html. [Accessed 16th November 2011]

Yue Liu - Photoquai 2011. 2011. Yue Liu - Photoquai 2011. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.photoquai.fr/en/2011/photographs/select-by-photographers/picture/photo/mountain-blossom-1.html [Accessed 16th November 2011]

Yue Liu - Photoquai 2011. 2011. Yue Liu - Photoquai 2011. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.photoquai.fr/en/2011/photographs/select-by-photographers/picture/photo/mountain-blossom-1.html [Accessed 16th November]

Week 7 - Image Processes

During week 7 we had to bring in our selected image from the Paris photo exhibition.The image I chose was by Elliot Erwitt. I got my image from a collector’s edition booklet that I got from the exhibition.

Scanned image from booklet

Elliot Erwitt - Marilyn Monroe, New York, 1956
My scanned and cropped image

I felt Erwitt was trying to capture another side to Marilyn in this picture. She is always shown facing the camera, showing her face and her body but this time she is looking away with her hand on her face. It's like he was trying to portray her in thought. What was she thinking, using her script as a prop, maybe he captured her during work and so we think about what work she doing, what is she preparing for, is she bored of it because of her body language. She is wearing a dressing gown it looks like, maybe she is in her own home, her own personal environment. Erwitt seemed to want to capture this relaxed side to her yet still keeping the essence of her classic images going: her beauty.

Erwitt is usually famous for his humorous photos on beaches and dogs. For example he says " the beach is a place to go see wonderful wide open spaces .... and pile on top of each other."

Ste. Maxime, France 1978 - Elliot Erwitt

" I've been taking pictures of beaches since I've been taking pictures, because it reflects my general attitude toward life: combine work with pleasure. You look at girls; you get a suntan; you might catch a photo that works."

Erwitt's Monroe series seems to show him trying to go in a different direction. However you can still see him humorous side in the Monroe image because he has captured an aspect of her that you do not usually see and so he succeeds on making a Monroe picture his own.

my A3 process image

The main part of the work was about how the image was processed. We had to show all specific measurements. The image size is 140 x 210 mm; 5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches and the image number shown in the collectors editions booket is 978 0 7148 4240 0. The image was printed using a silver gelatin process which is a standard black and white print. This information really helped me to understand more about the work.

Through this task I learnt a lot about what really goes on when making an image. Having to know exact measurements for the image, border, the presentation of it, the way it was printed, the meaning behind it and of course what I think about the image.

silver gelatin printing process

Sources

Measurements on image - Phaidon Press Collector's Edition [Accessed 23rd November 2011]

Magnumphotos. 2011 . Magnumphotos. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.magnumphotos.com/image/NYC13852.html [Accessed 11th December 2011]

Erwitt. E E . 1991. Elliot Erwitt: On the beach. 1st ed. New York & London: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc New York and Ltd London.

Google Images. 2011. Google Images. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.google.com/imghp. [Accessed 11 December 2011]

Week 8 - Time and the image

We had the opportunity in week 8 to print out our A3 image process document on an ink jet printer. We then had a discussion about our work in front of everyone explaining the process of the image. I learnt a lot about different processes which was interesting because I didn't know many before.

During week 8 we were given our next project, time and the image. We have to produce one image that represents time and the image. It can be from "long-exposure work at night to moving objects to working with a scanner to explore the recording of time in a digital photographic image" From this I went out and did some research.

I first looked at a book on Irving Penn - Still Life. His work was producing a series of objects portraying still life for Vogue magazine. Still life photography allows the photographer to have full control over the subject matter which John Szarkowski ( he wrote the introduction) compared to portraiture photography which has produced in earlier issues of Vogue. He tried to find out more about still life within Vogue but found nothing, showing that it was Penn's invention.

Irving Penn - frozen foods with string beans, editorial for Vogue, New York, 1977

I felt that this image really related to time because of the food being frozen. It shows the stillness of the food and how the icy texture on top is what has stopped time from decaying or cooking.

Sources

Penn, I P , 2001. Still Life. 1st ed. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson Ltd

plUMage : Uma Nair's blog-The Time Of Indian. 2011. plUMage : Uma Nair's blog-The Times Of India. [ONLINE] Available at:http://blogs:timesofindia.indiatimes.com/plumage/entry/still-life-in-photography-irving. [Accessed 04 December 2011]

Google image. 2011. Google images. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.google.co.uk/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi [Accessed 04th & 09th December 2011]

Week 9 - Time and the image

I looked through a portfolio where I saw an article on Susan Derges. She produced a series of work called 'The field at stiniel'. She created photograms through taking analogue images of the moon and star fields with water and ink, scanning 'cloudscapes' in to create a ghostly transparency, putting this all onto glass in a tray and filled with water. Above this she put a sheet of unexposed paper with branches gathered from the fields which then combined together to make a clear photogram.

Susan Derges - Gibbous moon, Alder, 2009

"The Moon/Star/Field/Cloud series is an expression of the diverse nature and powerful experience of the field at Stiniel"

Susan Derges - Arch 3 (spring) 2008/9

I felt Derges's work of seasons and layering was to create this thought of being there. Representing how she saw these fields when she visited them and showing her emotions through the image. The difference in colours and light between the two images represents maybe her feelings at that time of being there. The reeds and water show the calmness of the fields flowing by quietly to create this sense of tranquility.

Another artist I looked at was Richard Long. I felt his work portrayed a vast amount of time through his 'Walking the line' project. Long produced a series of images which were made during his walks through the world's landscapes using a variety of materials like stones, driftwood etc . I felt they portrayed a journey, a road to somewhere unknown.

Richard Long - Walking the line

I like this image because he made the line himself. Like he was making his mark in the grass. It seems very personal like expressing his emotions through this central line down the ground, representing his feelings.

Richard Long - Walking the line

Long's images helped me to create my own time image because of the use of lines used in his work. His variety of angles and scenery around the lines inspired me on how to construct my own image and how to then print it as my final picture.

Time and the image
my personal outcome

My image shows something person to me. A journey through time which I feel I am doing now. I have a lot of gardens/parks like this back home and so shows a real personal representation of me and my life.

Sources

Long, R L, 2002. Walking the line. 1st ed. United Kingdom : Thames & Hudson Ltd.

Google image. 2011. Google images. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.google.co.uk/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi [Accessed 04th & 09th December 2011]

Charlotte Cotton. C C . 2010. Susan Derges - The field at Stiniel. porfolio contemporary photography in Britain, issue 52, 12-19

Portfolio Catalogue - Issue 52. 2011. Portfolio Catalogue - Issue 52. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.portfoliocatalogue.com/52/index.php [Accessed 11 December 2011]

Week 10 - Large format

"Format describes the size and proportions of an image."

5 x 4 large format cameras frame the images shorter than the amount of a single page. It basically means some of the image you see through the viewfinder will be lost when you take the image.

During week 10 we were introduced to large format cameras. We had inductions on the equipment and lighting where we then had to assemble our own camera and lighting ready to take our own image.

5 x 4 lage format camera

Before we could take the picture we had to adjust the focus and make sure we had done the light meter reading. Also the aperture and shutter for the correct exposure. The film was then loaded into the case via the black room, inserted and then it was ready for the shutter to be released. The image was processed through the C41 machine.

course friend and tutor helping the set up

our large format set up

My groups final 5x4 large format image

Through our image we were trying to create a sense of seeing time stand still. The objects were arranged that way so you could capture all three objects clearly. I feel it gives a sense of a journey and watching time as you encounter what lies ahead.

I had a look at some artists who have also produced still life work.

Owen Silverwood - Vintage glass

Owen Silverwood produced this series of 'vintage glass' where he said they worked out differently to how he expected but realised this was a huge step forward.

Silverwood's still life imagery makes me think of him trying to capture beauty through an object. The architecture of the individual bottles could resemble women and the essence of their original beauty. The lines cutting through help your eyes to draw towards the image and trying to help define the shape of the bottles.

Sources

Google Images. 2011. Google Images. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.google.com/imghp. [Accessed 13 December 2011]

vintage glass : Owen Silverwood. 2011. vintage glass : Owen Silverwood. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.owensilverwood.com/index.php?/vintage-glass/. [Accessed 13th December 2011]

Smyth. D S. 2011. Workers playtime. British journal of PHOTOGRAPHY, A different take, volume158/issue number 7785, 28 - 39