Visual Exercise 3

Research

The brief for this project is to photograph a person in three different locations with three different qualities of light. Each image has to portray something different about the sitter through the location, lighting and composition.

Going into this project I have next to no experience with portraiture. Considering this project accounts for 40% of my final grade, I have a lot of research and trial and error ahead of me before I have my final images.

Portraiture has never really grabbed my interest in the way other genres of photography have. This means I do not know of many portrait photographers beyond Steve McCurry and David Bailey. Portraits which I have found interesting however, are the ones I have seen of some of my favourite musicians. Take for example David Bowie and John Frusciante. These are musicians who have changed dramatically throughout their careers and this has been reflected beautifully in all of their portraits. I like this idea of capturing the sitter’s personality through the way the portrait is lit or how it is composed. This will definitely be something I look to achieve in my final images.

David Bowie

John Frusciante

 

It is hard to believe that the portraits above are of the same two people. These sets of images show how both of these artists have mellowed and matured over the years. The photographers have been able to capture this through the way they light the subjects and how they use colour. This also shows how different photographers can have such varying views of the same person. I definitely want to say something different about the person I photograph in each image I take.

 

 Steve McCurry

 Steve McCurry is without a doubt one of my favourite photographers. His use of vivid and contrasting colours and the immense detail he captures in his images is incredible. The photos below are some of his most famous portraits:

Looking at them makes you feel almost as if you are there staring into the eyes of the people he is photographing.

 

Joey Lawrence

Joey Lawrence is a contemporary photographer based in New York. I was drawn to his work because unlike most portrait photographers he does not only photograph the face of his subjects. He also photographs the location they are in and the people who are around them in great detail. I really like this as it tells a story and says a lot more about the subject than a typical head and shoulders portrait would.

Thankfully, we were given a seminar on portraiture and a workshop where we were able to test out different lenses and lighting. (Details of this will be in a separate blog post titled, ‘Portraiture’). I felt at this point that seeing as the majority of my research had been music based it would make sense to photograph my friend, a guitarist who also studies at Napier. Through my images I would like to communicate different aspects of his life as a music student and create three images which are all very diferent from one another in terms of the location, mood, lighting and composition. 

 

 

Final Images

 

Image 1

My friend and I had been busy nearly every day since the project was issued. We eventually found a day we were both free. This was two days before hand in and we both had classes all throughout the day. Adding to this difficulty was the fact that the store was closed all day. I had been hoping to borrow a tripod (because my tripod broke a few days earlier), lights and a lens with a wide maximum aperture for some nice shallow depths of field but it seemed that would no longer be possible. It was at this point that I remembered a friend of mine had a 50mm lens which could open as wide as f1.8 so I borrowed that. When I arrived at uni the store was actually open, however there were no lights available to borrow. Thankfully I was able to get a tripod. I had to improvise with the lighting. I found some Ikea desk lamps in a box in the corner of the studio. They were surprisingly bright. For this photograph I wanted to create a very dramatic image which emulates the look of stage lighting. I chose this to be one of the environments because a huge part of being a music student is doing live performances. I asked my friend to sit down on a chair with their guitar whilst I set up the lights. I put one light behind him to create some nice rim lighting to get his outline against the dark background. I then set one up on the right so that he would be lit up on one side and in shadow on the other. At first this caused the neck of the guitar to cast shadow onto his face. I resolved this by moving the light up slightly. I took some more shots and reviewed them. Although I was happy with how dark the backdrop was and the way the guitar and the subject’s face were lit I felt there was not enough detail in the subject’s clothes. I introduced a third light onto the floor which faced up towards the left of the subject. This brought out some great highlights in the folds of the leather jacket he was wearing. I used an ISO of 100 to keep the image nice and sharp, an aperture of f2.8 to provide a depth of field shallow enough to have the subjects face and guitar in focus and the rest of the image blurred and a shutter speed of 1/5 to give the correct exposure. Because of this slow shutter speed I had to use a tripod and I had to ask the subject to stay as still as possible. It was at this point I felt that I had taken the image I wanted.

1/5, f/2.8, ISO 100

Overall I am very pleased with the end result, especially considering how new I am to portraiture. The face and guitar stand out from the dark background and clothes, making it clear that they are the main subject of the photograph. They are also sharp and in focus. The light is very harsh and dramatic, just as it would be on a stage for a live performance. One way I could have improved it however could have been going further back from the subject and placing him on one of the thirds grid lines to create a more interesting composition. I could have also experimented with different angles and viewpoints. 

Image 2  

For my second image I wanted to use natural light to light the subject. I decided to walk home with my friend, taking portraits along the way, so like the stage shot, the environment I photographed him in would actually be one you would find him in. On the way we had to cross a bridge over some train tracks. I felt this would be a great place to take his picture. I first asked him to walk across the bridge with his guitar in it’s case, however we both felt it would look better if he sat on the steps playing his guitar. As it was overcast, the clouds acted as a huge soft box, resulting in some nice soft light coming in from the left. It made for some nice lighting which caused half of the subject’s face to be in shadow. I had asked him to wear quite dark clothes that day so that the guitar and his face would stand out more from their surroundings.

1/125, f/3.2, ISO 100

This image has much softer, natural light than the first image. The bridge acts as a leading line drawing the eye towards the subject. Again, like image 1 the face and guitar are sharp and in focus and they stand out from their surroundings which are darker and more out of focus. I think that the steps, rails and trees frame the subject quite well too. I chose to shoot in the portrait orientation as I was  photographing the subject’s whole body. Overall I am very pleased with this image and I think it is the strongest one of the three. 

Image 3

As the previous two photographs had been quite candid, I wanted to create a more formal portrait where the subject is looking into the lens of the camera. I took this photograph on the same walk as image 2. When I was taking it I was thinking very much about Steve McCurry’s use of vivid colours and as it is Autumn there are plenty of oranges, yellows and reds around. Furthermore, as the previous two shots were shot with 45 and 90 degree lighting I wanted to have the subject’s face lit more or less equally on both sides. As I was showing the walk he takes everyday, I asked my friend to leave the guitar in it’s case for this one so it looked as if he was actually walking to uni. 

1/125, f/3.5, ISO 100

I don’t think that this image is as successful as the first two, however I am still quite pleased with it. I am very pleased with the colours as they are very vibrant and eye catching, similar to the work of Steve McCurry. The only problem with this is that they maybe detract from the subject who, in this case, is wearing quite dark clothing. Hopefully the aperture of f/3.5 which causes the background to be out of focus prevents this. I had originally intended for this image to use frontal lighting, however some harsh light came through the trees as I was taking the photograph. This caused the subject’s hair and face to be lit up, which is fine, as it is still differs from the soft light found in image 2. Furthermore, a lot of detail can still be seen in the subject’s face, unlike the previous two images. As this was my main goal I feel I was still partially successful. This image is also much warmer than images 1 and 2.

Evaluation

I think that in this project I have created three images which all show the subject in very different environments and qualities of light. In the first one I used the studio to emulate the kind of harsh, directional lighting which would be seen in a live performance on a stage. This created a very dramatic image. In the second image I show the subject on some steps near his house playing guitar in soft, natural light. This sets a much more relaxed mood from the first photograph. In the third and final image I show the subject on his walk to uni in quite harsh light, which shows a lot more detail in his face. This was lacking in the previous two images. Throughout my images I was thinking very much about my inspirations. This can be seen in the vibrant, autumnal colours found in image 3 which are quite reminiscent of Steve McCurry and the full body shots in images 2 and 3 which also reveal a lot of the background. This is similar to Joey Lawrence’s work. Looking back on the images I could have worked on my compositions. Although I used leading lines and framing in image 2 I feel that my choice of centralising the subject in images 1 and 3 was a poor one. I should have placed the subject onto one of the thirds grid lines in at least one these images to create a more balanced composition. All three of my images came out with the subject’s face sharp and in focus and each one is correctly exposed. The final print came out exactly as I wanted it to with the correct colours and exposure. Overall I really enjoyed doing this exercise and it opened my eyes to portraiture. I learnt a lot from my research and the takng if my final images and I think that it is a genre that I definitely want to get into. I look forward to buying my first 50mm lens so I can take more portraits! 

 

Visual Exercise 2

Research
The brief of this exercise was to document an area or space in 5 images. The most important things to remember when taking the images is to look past the obvious and be imaginative and creative. Another thing to bear in mind is sequencing the images so that they create a narrative. 

After being given the brief for the project, only one idea to came to mind, and that was to photograph the train station. It’s a busy and fairly large area which changes dramatically throughout the day. This means it will provide some very diverse photographs. I decided that through my 5 images I wanted to show how fast the trains and people move in and out of the station and how time passes. With my idea in mind, I set about researching photographers who show movement or time in their photographs:

Kevin Cooley

Kevin Cooley is a contemporary photographer from the US who’s work has been featured in various galleries and publications around the world. He is best known for the photographs he takes of the light trails produced by planes as they fly through the sky. In his series, ‘Nachtfluge’ he photographed the trails of hundreds of planes as they flew over the suburbs of Manhattan. He later stitched them together on Photoshop to create a stunning set of images:

I think that Kevin is successful in showing movement in his photographs because he not only photographs the trails, but he also photographs objects which remain still throughout the exposure too. He uses external lighting and composition to make these still objects stand out, really emphasising the movemnt of the trails. Furthermore, he is very particular about what time of day he shoots at. He does not just shoot at night when the sky is completely dark. He selects the time shortly after sunrise or shortly after sunset on a clear day when the sky is a nice clear blue, purple or orange. This realy adds to the images in terms of colour and vibrancy.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

A Japanese photographer who is well known for the images he took of cinema screens. In the late 1970s Sugimoto would go into cinemas and leave his camera shutter open for the entire film. The result is a series of images which show an empty theatre with a blank white screen. The images are very eerie and almost disturbing:

Sugimoto’s images show the passage of time which is something I would like to portray in my images.

Alexey Titarenko

This Russian born photographer created a series of 140 photographs titled, ‘City of Shadows’ which contains long exposure photographs he took of people on the streets. It creates a smoky, shadow-like effect which, like Sugimoto’s photographs appears very eerie, dramatic and disturbing:

This work is fairly similar to what I intend to do at the train station, in that I will be using slow shutter speeds to blur crowds of people to create a sense of movement.

Sources

http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com

http://www.kevincooley.net

http://www.alexeytitarenko.com

 

Final Images

At this point I felt I was confident in how much research I had done so I went to Waverley station armed with my tripod and camera. I knew from my research that the best way to show the movement and the passage of time at the station was to use long exposures which contain objects which remain still throughout the exposure to act as a control for the objects which are moving:

Image 1

25″, f22, ISO 100

For my first image I took a picture of the station from a far to give context to the location of the other images. I walked into Princes Street Gardens and balanced my tripod precariously on the metal fence which overlooks the station. I was rewarded with a brilliant view over where all the tracks converge. I went at 9pm because it was dark enough for long shutter speeds and there was still a lot of trains arriving and departing. I decided to take light trail photographs of the trains as they went past in the hope that it would fit my aim of showing movement and the passage of time. I hoped that a few trains would go past at once so that I could capture them all in one exposure, however they came too infrequently so in the end I had to go down the same route of stitching the images together on Photoshop as Cooley did. For each exposure I used a shutter speed of 25 seconds as this was approximately how long each train took to travel through the composition. To ensure that the whole image was sharp and in focus and correctly exposed, I used an aperture of f22 and an ISO of 100. I stood for about 30 minutes photographing the trains as they went past. When I reviewed the images I found 4 good trails on different tracks. I later combined these on Photoshop and the result was the image above.

Image 2

4″, f14, ISO 100

For this image I wanted to photograph the escalator. To create a sense of movement I used a slow shutter speed of 2 seconds. The ISO of 100 reduces noise levels to create a sharp image and the aperture of f14 ensures that the whole image is in focus. I positioned the tripod on the escalator so that the stairs would remain still throughout the exposure but the bannisters and people on the stairs would blur to create an interesting effect. In earlier attempts I had the camera positioned so that the horizon was flat, however I felt that tilting the camera slightly made the photo more dynamic and dramatic. This makes it seem as though the man at the top of the stairs is rushing to catch his train. One criticism I have of the image is something that could not be helped but basically the escalator vibrates as it moves. This means that even though the stairs were the part that I intended to keep still throughout the exposure, they have come out slightly blurred. However, it is not all that noticeable and I still feel that this image succeeds in portraying movement in the train station.

Image 3

2″, f11, ISO 100

For this image I wanted to emphasise how many people walk through the station so I used a slow shutter speed of 2 seconds to blur people as they walked past. It created a ghostly effect which is reminiscent of the work of Alexey Titarenko. I also used an ISO of 100 to retain clarity and an aperture of f11 to create a depth of field deep enough to leave the first 20 metres of the walkway in focus and the rest out of focus as the first 20 metres is where most of the figures were. One criticism I could make of this is that there is maybe not enough people so I should have probably waited until there were more. However as it was night, there wasn’t many people around and I feel that I still managed to put my point across despite this.

Image 4

4″, f14, ISO 100

In this image I wanted to portray how long people wait for trains and how much happens in the time they spend waiting. I did this by asking my friend to stand still on the platform as a train passed him. I used a slow shutter speed of 4 seconds to blur the train to show that it is moving. I used an aperture of f14 to ensure that my friend and the majority of the platform were in focus and an ISO of 100 to reduce noise levels to provide a sharp image. I used the lines on the platform and the trails created by the train to draw the eye towards my friend who is standing upon one of the thirds lines, providing balance amongst the composition. I think that this image is successful because the stillness of my friend and the trailing of the train emphasises the passage of time which is what I set out to photograph.

Image 5

1″, f5.6, ISO 400

Drawing on an idea from Visual Exercise 1, I created this image. I wanted to show how fast people move through the station and how much of a rush some people are in and how they do not seem to care about their surroundings. I did this by using a shutter speed of 1 second and pressing the shutter as I panned alongside a pedestrian as they walked past. This left the billboard blurring into trails and the pedestrian retaining their form and being relatively in focus. In hindsight I think I should have opted for a slightly faster shutter speed as this would have increased the sharpness of the subject, however it would have meant less trailing of the background which is the most important part of the image. I used an aperture of f5.6 as it was very dark and I only needed a depth of field deep enough to leave the subject in focus. Due it being a handheld shot and the fact that there were low light levels I had to put the ISO up to 400. Fortunately this was not too high so there is no noticeable increase in noise levels.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think that my documentation is an accurate portrayal of station life and I think that I have created a series of five diverse images which all incorporate the themes which I set out to communicate -time and movement. I did find when reviewing them though that some of were flawed. However these are minor issues which I feel do not detract from the images in any way. Had I started the project sooner I would have had more time to return to the station and fine-tune my images. That is something to keep in mind for future projects. I sequenced my images so that it tells a story of someone arriving at the station, going inside, waiting on the platform and leaving after catching their train.