Presentation and sequence

After some very useful feedback from my tutor on assignment 2, I decided to experiment a bit with presentation and sequencing of the series I created for assignment 2.

The first feedback point i noted was that the series doesn’t work so well as a set of triptychs ( triptychs usually need some internal logic such as symmetry across the 3 to make sense). I had not considered that during building the series.

The second feedback point was to consider how or where the series would be displayed as part of the thought process whilst creating the series and actually taking the shots. For example; will the photo’s be shown in a gallery or magazine etc? Again I had not considered this during creation of assignment 2.

Following this feedback I have experimented with the series for how I could rework the presentation and sequence with the feedback points in mind.

Experimentation method

Firstly ( again as advised ) I printed the series and laid out on the floor, moving the photos around until i settled on the sequence that I felt worked best. In doing this I noticed a few aspects where some photos tended to work to complement others for example the first 2 in the sequence i selected shown below have a similar feel in terms of leading lines from top left/right into the centre of the photo and 5 & 6 have a similarity in both lines and the amount of the frame the lighthouse takes up and so again work as a pair. Another thought here I is; having considered this up front I may well have chosen different photo’s for the series itself.

An alternative sequence –

Next I considered what this would look like as a photobook with this chosen sequence. I have noticed during research for EYV a lot of video’s on Youtube presenting photobooks in the style i have used here. This is also a good way to review your work.

The alternative sequence as a photobook

Assignment 2 : Reflection

Assessment criteria

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

Materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.

The series demonstrates a good level of observational skill, visual awareness and compositional skill. I believe the presentation as a set of 3 triptychs demonstrates good design. One aspect I am concerned about with the series is a balance between the positive aspects of consistency and negative impact of familiarity. I will be interested in my tutors viewpoint on this.

Quality of outcome

Content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in a coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.

I believe I have communicated my vision for this assignment well, both in terms of the write up in support of the series and in the series itself. Some of the shots in the series are more challenging than others, i applied discernment in the selection process to achieve alignment with the truth and in doing so selected some shots which are less aesthetically pleasing. It was more important for me to capture the truth even if that truth is less obviously beautiful. This is demonstrated most clearly in the ‘where’ for North Queensferry lighthouse – the truth is the lighthouse is stuck in the middle of a jumble of other things and is dwarfed by the Forth Rail Bridge ( itself one of the most fantastic examples human creation ).

Demonstration of creativity

Imagination, experimentation, invention.

There is a good level of experimentation, as can be seen in the contact sheet for assignment 2. Although none of the night time shots made the final series many shots were taken experimenting which Aperture/ISO/exposure combination gave the best results when trying to capture the light from the Carsewell lighthouse. An interesting challenge which ultimately did not reach a good enough level for the series but lessons learned.

The subject matter and my intent for this assignment did not really demand a great deal of imagination or invention.

Context

Reflection, research, critical thinking.

I settled on the theme and style for this series after some research, summarised here :-

The ‘dead head’ ‘straight on’ style of Ruscha’s gas station shots are in intent what I aim to capture for assignment 2 ‘where’ and ‘what’ of the lighthouse.

Phaidon (2013)

Choice of Triptych and sequencing for the series following research detailed in learning log entry Considering sequence

Inspiration for the series following research detailed in learning log entry Inspiration 1

My thoughts on application of critical thinking and reflection on this assignment are written up in learning log Assignment 2: Collecting

References:

Phaidon. 2013. Ed Ruscha explains his love of Gas Stations. [ONLINE] Available at: https://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/art/articles/2013/september/09/ed-ruscha-explains-his-love-of-gas-stations/. [Accessed 12 February 2019].

Assignment 2: Collecting

The brief

‘Fragments of a vessel which are to be glued together must match one another in the smallest details although they need not be like one another.’

(Walter Benjamin, [1936] 1999, p.79)

The Walter Benjamin quote above expresses the idea that a collection should reflect a single coherent idea, but you’ll also need technical rigour to match the photographs to each other ‘in the smallest details’. Start by choosing your focal length, aperture and viewpoint combination in advance.

Visually, similarities correspond so they’re easy to look at, but be careful of duplicates because repetition is boring. Differences are interesting because they contrast, but randomly changing your framing or allowing a confusion of detail into your backgrounds will distract from the viewing.

Brief

Create a series of between six and ten photographs on one of the following subjects:

Things
Views
Heads

Vision:

After some thought, experimentation false starts and trials, I settled on collecting things, the thing being – lighthouses.

As well as a clear aesthetic value, for me lighthouses have a raw utility and in that a beauty which I hope to capture in this series. Every lighthouse is different, even within the locality of a few hours drive from Edinburgh there is a plethora of examples and I again hope to present something of the myriad styles and purposes within the series, accepting of course that I only scratch the surface of the possible. Theses two aspects I aim to present within the series I see as ‘the what‘ of the lighthouse, the thing.

There is more I hope to convey in the series however; lighthouses are also things which have a strong sense of place. They are constructed on the periphery of our landscapes, where the human world meets a wild place a fundamentally uncontrollable force that can only be worked with but never truly tamed, the sea. I hope in this series to also convey a sense of where in the world these structures are and what it feels like to be there. As with their design, no two places are the same and I hope to capture something of this aspect also, again accepting that i just scratch the surface of possibilities. These two aspects I aim to present within the series I see as ‘the where‘ of the lighthouse.

Finally I want to convey something of the overall impression each lighthouse left me with after the photoshoot. A single shot for each lighthouse which for me provides the strongest impression of the thing, the thing that makes it special. This aspect I see as ‘the vision‘ of the lighthouse, the thing.

Technical:

For this series I present 9 photographs of 3 lighthouses, for each a photo of the ‘where’, ‘what’ and ‘vision’ of the lighthouse.

I aimed for consistency in focal length for the ‘where’ and ‘what’ aspects of the series, in both cases opting for a wide angle. In the case of ‘where’ this was not always possible due to difficulties in achieving the correct distance given the terrain around. For ‘where’ a wide angle was preferred as this helps to bring the periphery of the land & sea scapes into the shot. For ‘what’ again a wide angle helps to emphasise the fundamental nature of the lighthouse, that of height ( although as will be seen from the series, this is not always the same )

For both ‘where’ and ‘what’ I used the same aperture for all shots F8 as this also helps to maintain a level of consistency over the series. Tripod was used where necessary.

However for ‘vision’ I allowed myself freedom to use any setting of my choosing in order to create the image I thought best expressed the ‘vision’. All shots were taken in aperture priority mode.

Further considerations:

I present the series as a set of 3 tryptichs each containing the ‘where’, ‘what’ & ‘vision’. With reference to Considering sequence I have mixed the three lighthouses across the 3 tryptichs in the series. This was done after personal critical review of my original series sequence which was; A tryptich for each lighthouse and in order of ‘where’, ‘what’ ‘vision’. I found that this order to be less interesting than the mix I present here.

The series:

( click on each for higher resolution view )

The individual photographs:

1.1 The lighthouse at Corsewall bay

ƒ/8.0 23.0 mm 1/60s ISO 320

Untitled

1.2 The NorthQueensferry Lighthouse
ƒ/8.0 28.0 mm 1/40s ISO 200

1.3 A vision of the East Pier Lighthouse
ƒ/4.0 37.0 mm 1/800s ISO 200

2.1 The lighthouse at East Pier Newhaven

ƒ/8.0 60.0 mm 1/400s ISO 200

2.2 The Corsewall lighthouse
ƒ/8.0 28.0 mm 1/640s ISO 200

2.3 A vision of the North Queensferry lighthouse
ƒ/8.0 33.0 mm 1/30s ISO 200

3.1 The lighthouse at North Queesnferry

ƒ/9.0 28.0 mm 1/50s ISO 200

3.2 East Pier Lighthouse

ƒ/8.0 28.0 mm 1/400s ISO 200

3.3 A vision of Corsewall Lighthouse

ƒ/8.0 58.0 mm 1/100s ISO 200

Concerns and considerations:

The ‘where’ shots verge into the territory of views rather than things. I was aware of this whilst formulating the idea and during shooting, editing etc. However, as with many things, and in particular with lighthouses, where the thing is in the world is an important aspect of he thing itself. It was therefore important for me to include these shots.

Again with the ‘where’ shots effort was put into providing some consistency across the 3 photographs selected, in composition etc whilst at the same time ensuring that the lighthouse is always obviously the main element. This is under most pressure with the shot of the North Queensferry bay lighthouse. The Forth Rail bridge is essential to anding the sense of ‘where’ but it may also deflect the observers attention. For this reason I have placed this shot in the 3rd series so the observer has had a chance to settle on the theme and rythym of the series before being confronted by this more challenging shot.

Reflection:

There is definite scope to carry on this project both in terms of the myriad different lighthouses but also in aspects to investigate, such as; night time shots with the lighthouse in operation and shots from the sea. Both of these I considered for this assignment however, the aspects i chose ‘where’, ‘what’, ‘vision’ for me were the core aspects to present. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of all is weather conditions. Whilst this aspect does come through to some degree in the series a lot more can be done here if given the time for further work on this project.

Considering sequence

As part of my work towards submission for assignment 2 – collecting, i consider how i might sequence the series of 6 to 12 photographs. I considered how I selected the sequence for assignment 1 the square mile. The sequence was based on a simple rule; group the photographs in pairs to emphasize the chosen theme “Edinburgh at work and play”. For assignment 2 I will invest some thought into possibly more sophisticated sequencing.

To date my thoughts on creating a sequence for a series of photographs, could in my opinion, be described as limited and one dimensional. As evidenced in Exercise 1.4 Frame. In this series the sequence was based on geometric logic and symmetry. Following the brief for this exercise I took 9 shots, each with concentration on a separate section of the viewfinder ( 3*3 grid ). I sequenced the shots mapping directly to the sections where the shot concentrated which i presented in a 3 * 3 grid eg shot with concentration on bottom left corner was placed bottom left in the sequence. This seemed logical and so for me has a merit.

The question I ask myself here however is; does a less logically ordered sequence have more merit or in other words is there some other way to sequence which has more merit?

The original sequence here :-

I researched methods of sequencing a series of photographs and found the following useful insights for consideration from Holly Stuart Hughes. THE ART AND PROCESS OF SEQUENCING PHOTO BOOKS. (2018);

“If you simply select the best 50 images in a series, it’s not an interesting book, because the tension in the photos is always the same,”

“Like in a film or a novel, you have to build up to the tension and then you need to release the tension.”

Considering both points above regarding building tension through not always having the best shots in the series and treating the the series like a film or novel, I reworked the sequencing for Exercise 1.4 Frame, as shown below.

Additionally an added improvement to increased tension and release with this sequence is achieved by presenting as 3 tryptichs rather than the 3 * 3 grid. This helps emphasize the narrative arc I chose for the sequence; to have two shots of journey leading to some reward in the 3rd shot of each group.

I have been collecting a number of shots for assignment 2 for which I have considered possible sequencing. However will consider again in the light of this research.

References

Holly Stuart Hughes. 2018. THE ART AND PROCESS OF SEQUENCING PHOTO BOOKS. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.pdnonline.com/features/photo-books/art-process-sequencing-photo-books/#gallery-1. [Accessed 27 January 2019].

Inspiration 1

In researching for assignment 2 ‘Collecting’ I found this article inspirational :-

Amy Elkins Black is the Day Black is the Night. (2019)

I found this series by Amy Elkins fascinating and beautiful as well as unsettling, haunting. I have difficulty settling my view on whether Amy is presenting a vision of optimism and humanity found even under the most extreme constraint or a deeply sorrowful expression of lives sadly lost with only fragments remaining. Do I think for my assignment 2 Collecting, I will consider anything approaching such clarity and gravity of symbolism, absolutely not. However i take great inspiration from the use of transformation on the images used to express the Amy’s vision. The use of lower resolution levels to denote the amount of the subjects life spent in jail and number of images in the composites denoting the number of years spent behind bars I find inspirational – “The rules are mine to set and use.”

The output especially on the landscape composites are beautiful, haunting and sorrowful.

For my series I am considering using different Lightroom adjustments (presets) to help express the impression I want to convey of the lighthouse images i take. As an example here are two images of the same shot. The first is almost straight from the camera RAW converted to jpeg the other has a ‘vintage instant’ preset applied, which flattens the image and compresses the colour range. The day I took this shot was overcast and very cold, the modifications help here to bring this dimension through.

Other shots of the same lighthouse in different weather conditions demand a different process, as here with the same lighthouse a few days earlier and in very different weather conditions, here an increase in vibrancy creates a much more optimistic a pleasant view. Although still taken in the depths of winter, the sun managed to bring warmth to the world such that this shot could have been taken in mid summer.

The first shot again straight out of camera RAW converted to JPEG the second uses ‘vibrant’ preset from Lightroom

References

Daniel C. Blight. 2019. Amy Elkins Black is the Day Black is the Night. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.1000wordsmag.com/amy-elkins/. [Accessed 24 January 2019].

Lens work: Research point

Depth of field spectrums

In considering this research I see the application of depth of field in association with depth of realism that creates a spectrum;

The clarity of realism provided by full depth of field which attracted the F64 group, who considered it necessary for photography to represent the world in full detail at one end point.

Quote from F64 Group Manifesto, 1932

‘to remain independent of ideological conventions of art and aesthetics that are reminiscent of a period and culture antedating the growth of the medium itself’

Found from google search on “f/64 manifesto” and referenced via wikipedia

(Heyman, Therese Thau 1992:20-24, back cover)

The opposite endpoint of shallow depth of field providing opportunity for photography to represent the world in ambiguous dreamlike sequences such as that exhibited by Mona Kuhn.

I see a parallel spectrum also with respect to politics and photography again in application of depth of field;

Photojournalism must represent the world in full depth in order to honestly and openly allow the observer to create their own view and opinion on what they see in the image without the corruption of direction by the photographer.

“I’m inclined to think that there is no such thing as a photojournalistic image, only a photojournalistic use of an image”

Found from google search of the quote itself in an article on Foto Countervisuality Museum. (2013)

Note, The quote itself is not found in the article but in a reply to a comment on the article.

This is challenged where the impact of the world including the political dimension can be represented. As depicted by Gianluca Cosci Panem Et Circenses where the use of shallow depth of field alongside a low viewpoint creates the impression of a restricted view or possibly political oppression.

This is discussed by Cosci in interview

“I am interested in the point of view of the excluded, the marginalised. Often one is forced to have only restricted views, in awkward positions, difficult to maintain. Nevertheless we could take advantage of this apparent fault to observe and understand things in a different, unexpected way.” Panem Et Circenses (2006)

From my archive the following shot most closely aligns with the ambiguous and dreamlike imagery of Mona Kuhn’s work. I selected this image, as in my view, duality is introduced by the fact that although the building in the background is entirely out of focus it is also unmistakably the Empire State building.

Title: How to view the Empire State building from Top of The Rock

Bibliography

Foto Countervisuality Museum. (2013) Still Searching…3. Backwards and Forwards[online] At: https://www.fotomuseum.ch/en/explore/stillsearching/articles/26952_backwards_and_forwards (Accessed on 01.03.19)

Heyman, Therese Thau (1992). Seeing Straight: The f.64 Revolution in Photography. Oakland Museum. pp. 20–24, back cover.

Panem Et Circenses (2006) at https://www.gianluca-cosci.com/panem-et-circenses (Accessed on 01.04.2019 )

Woodpecker

The Brief:

Find a subject in front of a background with depth. Take a very close viewpoint and zoom in; you’ll need to be aware of the minimum focusing distance of your lens. Focus on the subject and take a single shot. Then, without changing the focal length or framing, set your focus to infinity and take a second shot.

As you review the two shots, how does the point of focus structure the composition? With a shallow depth of field the point of focus naturally draws the eye, which goes first of all to the part of the image that’s sharp.

Achieving deep depth of field might appear easy compared to the difficulties of managing shallow depth of field. We’re surrounded by images made with devices rather than cameras, whose short focal lengths and small sensors make it hard to achieve anything other
than deep depth of field. The trick is to include close foreground elements in focus for an effective deep depth of field image. Foreground detail also helps to balance the frame, which can easily appear empty in wide shots, especially in the lower half. When successful, a close viewpoint together with the dynamic perspective of a wide-angle lens gives the viewer the feeling that they’re almost inside the scene.

Again without moving the camera, select a very small aperture (perhaps one stop above the minimum to avoid diffraction) and find a point of focus that will give you acceptable sharpness throughout the entire field, from foreground to infinity. Take a third shot and add it to the first two to make a set.

The exercise is also a way of thinking about attentional focus. According to some of the most recent thinking in neuroscience, the left hemisphere of the brain attends more to detail while the right hemisphere attends more globally. It’s rather like a woodpecker pecking an insect out of the tree while at the same time keeping an eye out for predators. In photography, you could say that having a good grasp of detail allows you to master the technical aspects while seeing the connections between things makes meaning. You’ll return to this point in Exercise 3.3.

The shots:

f5.6, 52mm, SS 1/15s, ISO 100

f5.6, 52mm, SS 1/13s, ISO 100

f25, 52mm, SS 1.3s, ISO 100

Notes:

Deviated from the brief by using auto focus and moving the focus points between the metal bollard in shot 1 and centre image for shot 2 and 3, however I think the purpose of the exercise is still met.

Focus

The brief:

Find a location with good light for a portrait shot. Place your subject some distance in front of a simple background and select a wide aperture together with a moderately long focal length such as 100mm on a 35mm full-frame camera (about 65mm on a cropped-frame camera). Take a viewpoint about one and a half metres from your subject, allowing you to compose a headshot comfortably within the frame. Focus on the eyes and take the shot.

Wide apertures create shallow depth of field, especially when combined with a long focal length and a close viewpoint. In human vision the eye registers out-of-focus areas as vague or indistinct – we can’t look directly at the blur. But in a photograph, areas of soft focus can form a large part of the image surface so they need to be handled with just as much care as the main subject.

The Shot:

f1.4, 50mm, SS 1/60, ISO 320

I chose this shot as in my opinion it works best at a wide open aperture really blurring the background and helps to emphasise focus on the subject. At this aperture there is even noticeable loss of focus on the extremities of the woollen hat and coat. I confess by accident but i also really like the similarity between the motif on the hat and the blurred shape on the picture in the background, the similarity in colour, size and rough shape work well here.

Experimentation:

I experimented over different apertures using a small statue and with a photograph in the background to provide some interest. My aim being to see if i could subjectively discern between different levels of ‘out of focus’ in the background and it’s effect on the overall picture. Highly subjective I believe, in the images below the one that works best for me is at f8.0, unlike on the shot for this exercise where i think fully open aperture of f1.4 works best.

I noticed during this exercise a clear relationship between the f-stops and shutter speed. With shutter speed doubling on each f-stop reduction in aperture. I have been aware of this however this exercise helped bed in the relationship. I started this experiment in aperture priority mode which meant i paid little attention to shutter speed. This is my standard way of operating so far with my photography so could explain why i don’t really have a good feel for the relationships between f-stop and shutter speed. I had a lot of difficulty using aperture priority mode and achieving good exposure during this experiment however and switched to manual mode for the shots below.

I also noticed evidence of some dust on the camera sensor which becomes more evident as aperture is reduced, some cleaning to do.

f1.4, 50mm, SS 1/125s, ISO 100

f2.0, 50mm, SS 1/60s, ISO 100

f2.8, 50mm, SS 1/30s, ISO 100

f4.0, 50mm, SS 1/15s, ISO 100

f5.6, 50mm, SS 1/6s, ISO 100

f8.0, 50mm, SS 0.3s, ISO 100

f11, 50mm, SS 0.6s, ISO 100

f16, 50mm, SS 1.3s, ISO 100

Viewpoint

The Brief:

Select your longest focal length and compose a portrait shot fairly tightly within the frame in front of a background with depth. Take one photograph. Then walk towards your subject while zooming out to your shortest focal length. Take care to frame the subject in precisely the same way in the viewfinder and take a second shot. Compare the two images and make notes in your learning log.

The shots:

Shot1: f5.6, 140mm, SS 1/13s, ISO 320

Shot2: f3.5, 18mm, SS 1/40s, ISO 320

Notes:

In Shot1 the depth of field around the subject is much reduced in comparison to shot2, most notable in the bushes to the left of the subject. In shot1 the bushes appear immediately behind the subject whereas in shot2 they appear many yards in the distance.

With long focal length the background is flattened and with short focal length it is extended.

There is a change in aperture between shot1 (f5.6) and shot2 (f3.5) this is characteristics of the lens itself. In both cases aperture priority was set and aperture set to maximum. Even although aperture is smaller for shot1, the effect of long focal length and relatively open aperture results in the background being out of focus on shot 1. At this resolution the close position and wide angle of shot 2 results in fairly good focus through the image.

Zoom

The brief:

Find a scene that has depth. From a fixed position, take a sequence of five or six shots at different focal lengths without changing your viewpoint.

Taking inspiration from the examples above or from your own research, create a final image for your sequence. In EYV the important thing is to present your work in context, so make it clear in your notes what you’ve been looking at and reading. The focus here is on imagination and research skills rather than the technical aspects of zoom.

The series:

A series of 8 shots taken of a treelined pathway which I believe shows a sufficient amount of depth. All shots were taken from a single position using a tripod and with the same aperture (f8.0) and ISO100. Camera was set to aperture priority mode so some changes in shutter speed were noted as the camera selected SS for exposure.

f8.0, SS 1/10s, 18mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/8s, 24mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/6s, 38mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/6s, 52mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/5s, 75mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/8s, 95mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/8s, 116mm, ISO100

f8.0, SS 1/8s, 140mm, ISO100

The series shows the intent behind the technical aspect of this exercise with the feeling of “walking through the scene”. In an attempt to emphasise this aspect further I created an MP4 with all 8 images in the series. This does help to visualise the effects of increasing focal length over the same subject.

Points noted:

At focal lengths below 35mm there is a notable wide angle effect where the centre of the image appears to be pulled further into the distance than is seen with the naked eye and the aspects on periphery of the scene appear pulled into the image.

The camera was set to multi-metering mode which in retrospect may not have been the best for this series. This mode attempts to meter for all areas within the scene, as the series progresses the increasing focal length removes some light from the top of the scene, this makes the images darker as the series progresses. Until the final image where the small amount of light in the centre becomes relatively larger in the scene.

Additional thoughts:

I was interested to see the effect on resolution in the scene at different focal lengths. This can be seen on the two cropped images below. Both are cropped down to a small section in the very centre of the image series around the puddle which emerges into view at around 50mm focal length. The first is a crop from the 75mm shot and the second from the 140mm shot. The cropped area is very small so both show pixelation however this is clearly more pronounced on the cropped 75mm shot reminiscent of a Thomas Ruff JPEG from earlier project work.

f8.0, SS 1/5s, 75mm, ISO100 – cropped

f8.0, SS 1/8s, 140mm, ISO100 – cropped

Final image

Typical for the genre a wide angle often provides powerful and interesting images which distort the image stretching the centre ground away into the distance and pul the edges in to the picture. The final image is taken from a few feet back from the series introducing the 3 bollards which help to emphasise the distorting effect of 18mm focal length.

Inspiration:

In considering this series I investigated use of zoom in landscape photography using Bridgeman Education online gallery resource and created a slideshow here of images using wide angle.

https://www-bridgemaneducation-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/en/slideshow/3760

An example provided here.

Fig. 1 Kenny Muhammad – (June 2004) [Photograph] At: https://www-bridgemaneducation-com.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/en/asset/3890769/summary?context=%7B%22route%22%3A%22slideshow_view%22%2C%22routeParameters%22%3A%7B%22_format%22%3A%22html%22%2C%22_locale%22%3A%22en%22%2C%22slideshowId%22%3A%223760%22%7D%7D

3890769