Exercise 4.1 Daylight Quality continued

Thoughts on morning/evening light and the ‘golden’ quality compared with mid day light which I think has more of a ‘white’ quality. What I mean by ‘white’ quality is that the light is more neutral and has does not have an alternating effect on the reflected colours. In this way ‘white’ light is more true light and so I understand the view of Eugene Atget and the photographs he took in his earlier work.

I suspect that the air itself is the root of the difference in quality of light between morning/evening and mid day, or rather the amount of air. Air is not a vacuum, it is actually full of stuff; water particles, dust etc. Therefore light is reflected, refracted and diffracted through all this ‘stuff’. This softens and diffuses light and more so for blue than red. Different colours of light have different wavelengths which refract and diffract differently and effects blue more than red during golden hour.

As much as soft and gold has an impact on the quality of light, so too does the increased shadow created by the lower angle of the sun. The following shots are all taken fairly early in the morning and show how shadow can have a profound impact on the look and feel of a photograph as well adding interest in some cases.

I have found shooting in manual on this exercise that the exposure meter on the camera was not a great way to achieve a good exposure. An exposure which is true to the image as i see it at the time. Much more successful is to use the histogram and aim to have a balance of tones that matches the scene in question. This feels exactly how you should set your exposure, much more natural and intuitive than using the camera’s auto function to decide the correct exposure. One other indication that this is true is when loading the images above into lightroom for post processing. My normal workflow is to apply auto-tone to each image, i noticed that for the above images the auto-tone have very little effect. I infer from this that the images were very close to best case exposure and tone already. This may of course be more to do with the relatively low levels of dynamic range. I will keep an eye on this and see if using histogram in manual to set exposure tends to result in a more accurate and correct exposure more often. All of the images here are untouched by lightroom and shot in RAW.

Exercise 4.1: Daylight Quality

Considering the ‘quality’ of light between the two images below. The first in direct sunlight, the second with cloud cover.

The most obvious thing I note is the absence of shadow in the cloud cover images.

The strength of direct sunlight can overwhelm the eye in what I think of as a kind of bleach effect, whereas with diffused light the image is far easier to understand. The subtle contrasts of the tree bark come through for instance, these are all but lost in the glare of direct sunlight.

With the shots below again considering direct sunlight in comparison with more diffused light under cloud cover, in this case there is a clear difference in vibrancy and depth of colour found in the sunlit picture over the cloud lit picture. In this case the brighter image is more positive and optimistic.

Technical point: In taking these shots I used the histogram to guide my exposure rather than the the camera indication of 0EV. I aimed to have a good balance across the histogram between Low, mid and High tones.

Exercise 4.1: Michael Schmidt

In [AXS. 2010] Michael Schmidt wrote “I prefer black and white photography because it guarantees the viewer a maximum amount of neutrality within the limits of the medium. It reduces and neutralizes the coloured world to a finely nuanced range of greys, thus precluding an individual way of seeing (personal colour tastes) by the viewer.”

In combination with overcast skies diffusing light, removing shadows and producing a flat reduced depth and contrast image, the image is simplified, easier to consume and comprehend by the viewer.

In considering this aspect of light and photography I think about my own experience and think ( confess even ) that I feel more relaxed, comfortable and confident when taking shots and the sky is overcast. Classically good exposure is easier to attain and dynamic range much reduced. A good quality outcome is nearly always more likely in this case all be it that drama may be harder to achieve. In viewing the images in https://www.prixpictet.com/portfolios/consumption-shortlist/michael-schmidt/ drama does not seem to be what Schmidt is looking for.

Bibliography

AXS. 2010. Michael Schmidt: Thoughts About My Way of Working. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.americansuburbx.com/2010/10/michael-schmidt-thoughts-about-my-way-of-working-1979.html. [Accessed 5 May 2019].

Exercise 4.1: Daylight – Sally Mann

Personal view on light quality.

With Southern Landscapes, and other series (Battlefields, Family Pictures etc), Sally Mann uses the wet plate collodian method. A method dating back to the early days of photography, this adds a level of mystery to the photographs in Southern Landscapes that complements the quality of light; early morning or late afternoon.

In particular the images below with their deep shadows created by the low sun provide a depth of image that makes the viewer feel very much ‘in’ the image. There is a richness alongside the depth which would be far less pronounced had the photographs been taken at mid day or with dispersed light of cloud cover.

[Sally Mann:2019]

Southern Landscapes 1

Southern Landscapes 2

The quality of light in these photographs is critical to their success, delivering a fundamental component to the emotional impact.

I wonder how much of the impact can be attributed to the collodian method with it’s high flaw contingent. Sally Mann herself says “I guess, because I was so immersed in that whole glass-plate, nineteenth-century aesthetic, it was natural to want to learn how to do this.” in [art21:2011]

bibliography

Sally Mann. 2019. Sally Mann. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.sallymann.com/. [Accessed 5 May 2019].

art21. 2011. Collodion Process Sally Mann. [ONLINE] Available at: https://art21.org/read/sally-mann-collodion-process/. [Accessed 5 May 2019].

Assignment 3 : Reflection

Assessment criteria

Demonstration of technical and visual skills

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

I believe the series represents a progression in technical and visual skills in relation to street photography over the street shots in assignment 1 – The square mile.

Composition was a very important part of in successfully expressing the vision I had for this assignment along with choice of aperture and focal length. All were carefully thought out for the successful photographs in this series.

Quality of outcome

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

I believe that I have successfully conveyed my vision and communicated the idea behind this assignment, a relatively simple message which I believe is clearly expressed through the series. I do not believe that any of the individual shots are particularly successful however collectively they work to evoke the impression I was looking for. Much like the core inspiration for the series, where individually the photographs do not make much sense however collectively convey a strong message.

Presentation with an accompanying poem I believe adds to the series and also as photobook (in video) helps communication of the idea for the series.

Discernment shown through the similarity in look and in body language in the selected photographs, I found myself spending more time than I normally would to take the specific shot I wanted, waiting for the right moment. In this way I was discerning even before taking the shot. This idea came from specific feedback from my tutor on assignment 2 where we discussed trying to reduce the number of shots taken. The aim being to increase the number of good shots over rejected shots. I found the exercise interesting and enjoyable.

Demonstration of creativity

Imagination, experimentation, invention.

Perhaps the series I decided not to present demonstrates more imagination, experimentation and invention. There is some imagination and invention in visualising the message I wanted to convey and what this may look like before I went out to take the shots and create the photographs.

Again the series I have chosen not to present holds perhaps a greater degree of experimentation. I found the series presented to not require a lot of experimentation, I had a clear idea and strong sense of what would work. This is probably represented in the relatively low number of photographs on the contact sheet.

Context

Reflection, research, critical thinking.

Street photography is not an area I have spent much of my time doing over the past few years. I, much like many people I believe am inherently uncomfortable taking pictures of people without their permission. That said it is an area I am interested in progressing for myself and found that I became more comfortable as I progressed through assignment.

My idea itself demonstrates critical thinking where I considered Colin Pantall’s review of Paul Graham The Present and challenge one of the core messages with the series. Other than the challenge I attempted to in many ways to emulate the work. In this way I hope the challenge I present comes through clearly.

I found the book – On composition and improvisation by Larry Fink to be very influential in my composition selections for the series.

Assignment 3: The (in)decisive moment

Brief

Create a set of between six and ten finished images on the theme of the decisive moment. You may choose to create imagery that supports the tradition of the ‘decisive moment’ or you may choose to question or invert the concept by presenting a series of ‘indecisive’ moments. Your aim isn’t to tell a story, but in order to work naturally as a series there should be a linking theme, whether it’s a location, event or particular period of time.

Include a written introduction to your work of between 500 and 1000 words outlining your initial ideas and subsequent development. You’ll need to contextualise your response with photographers that you’ve looked at, and don’t forget to reference the reading that you’ve done.

Introduction

During this assignment I had two themes which I worked with in parallel only deciding very late which I wanted to go forward with and present here.

The theme which I have not brought forward asks the question, what would the decisive moment be if those moments are 1/2s long? This theme is connected to a deep interest I have in physics and the concept of time and now. How this time is connected with matter and energy revealing reality to us at the speed of light. All visual arts and especially photography has these concepts as bedrock. I was very lucky to come across a phenomenon when shooting seagulls at 400ms, these cease to look like seagull’s or even material and start to resemble energy waves. I created a number of abstract images which appear on the contact sheet for the assignment. I investigated Wolgang Tillman’s abstract work and found some similarities and inspiration. Ultimately I could not find a strong enough link to the brief for this assignment. I may however bring this idea back later in Expressing Your Vision as I find the concept and output fascinating.

Inspiration for the theme of this series comes directly from The Present, the photobook by Paul Graham and from the review of this work by Colin Pantall. The images I created are both a challenge to and in some ways an endorsement of what I think about The Present. For technique and understanding of street photography and not being particularly experienced in this area I read – Larry Fink On composition and improvisation and used this for much of the technical decisions I made.

Pantall writes about The Present “It looks pretty much like any other run down place. The people are the same. They’re not glamorous or striking or eccentric, but rather they’re harried, harassed and distant;” The work contains a series of photographs of Manhattan and the people who inhabit that area of New York. For most of us we do not think of Manhattan as ‘like any other run down place’ we think of Manhattan as spectacular and exciting, evoking images of; the Empire State building, central park, the Brooklyn bridge etc Perhaps you need to look up most of the time to see Manhattan’s splendour.

The series I present here offers a point of view and comment on the effect our surroundings and environment have on us and how this can be related to the decisive moment; ‘The people are the same. They’re not glamorous or striking or eccentric, but rather they’re harried, harassed and distant’.

I read from this that Pantall means, the run down nature of the place in some way causes the people therein to be harried and harassed. I found this an interesting viewpoint and not one I fully agree with. I found this worthy of exploration for this assignment and how I could use my environment to explain why I disagree at least in part.

I live in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland which offers a very different experience and environment from Manhattan and I argue is in it’s own way compelling and interesting as well as spectacular and exciting. Looking up whilst traversing the streets of Edinburgh certainly provides for some fantastic sights as does looking up in Manhattan. Edinburgh differs though in that the wonderful architecture, statues, gardens etc are perhaps more accessible, closer and more connected with us. When walking around in the centre of Edinburgh it is actually quite impossible to avoid being surrounded by all of this splendour, it is there on every turn and in every street. I wonder also if the age of city adds something to the connection we have, which is not there in Graham’s Manhattan of 2012.

This leads me to consider that the message Paul Graham gives us in The Present, could not be shot in the centre of Edinburgh or at least would need to be drastically different in style and composition. In this series I investigate this idea. I do approached this with a preconceived viewpoint however, which is a challenge to The Present. Our environment, no matter how interesting compelling and engaging will fade from our consciousness after even a small amount of time. In this way the environment becomes meaningless to the message, The Present does not need a ‘run down place’ to support the message.

In conclusion; We are left with ‘They’re not glamorous or striking or eccentric, but rather they’re harried, harassed and distant’ and the moments are invariably indecisive, regardless of surroundings.

In the series, all shots have something of interest which could pull on the attention of the subjects the people in the photographs however they fail to grab that attention. The subjects are oblivious, they do not see what is right there and are left introverted and conscious only of themselves. Sometimes harried or harassed, possibly just relaxed but always distant and focussed inward. To express this idea I sometimes crop or set out of focus the thing of interest other times this is not necessary and the interest is right there yet still ignored. Around the subjects are buildings, statues, street performers and the castle itself.

With a mind to the photographic style of The Present;

I have used a preset in Lightroom to evoke a rich analog film feel similar to the feel found in The Present.
Some, although not all images are shot with subjects in middle distance.
A number of the images are pairs where there is little difference between one shot and another.

Presentation

Following the central inspiration for the series I considered presenting in photobook form. After some experimentation using print outs to find the best layout and sequence I created a ‘psuedo photobook’ using adobe photoshop and lightroom shown in this short video clip.

Out of the present

We walk with yesteryear Hero in our midst, this time is yet still My Time,

The Fog can oft’ descend hiding the mighty one, and too soon My time is short,

So much in My life, is only Almost seen.

We are Collectively clipped right here,

whilst Contact comes from outside, bypasses and in,

Still the stress and wail, can’t burrow through my Fascination.

The Series

Hero in our midst

ƒ/5.0 30.0 mm 1/320s ISO200

My time

ƒ/5.0 27.0 mm 1/400s ISO200

Fog

ƒ/5.6 140.0 mm 1/200s ISO400

My time is short

ƒ/5.6 140.0 mm 1/200s ISO400

My life

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/2000s ISO320

Almost seen

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/1600s ISO320

Collectively clipped

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/320s ISO100

Contact

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/640s ISO100

Stress and wail

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/500s ISO100

Fascination

ƒ/5.6 70.0 mm 1/500s ISO100

Bibliography

Pantall, Colin (2012) The Present. At: http://www.photoeye.com/magazine/reviews/2012/05_17_The_Present.cfm (accessed 28.03.2019)

Considering Nortre-Dame

Considering the disaster that has befallen Nortre-Dame Cathedral, I think a disaster for the people of Paris, France and for all of us. Just last night as the Cathedral was engulfed in flames and one of the spires collapsing the people of Paris took to the streets in collective shock and mourning and the comfort of being together to bare witness.

I think of Paul Graham’s photobook The Present as discussed here the antithesis of the decisive moment is connected to the urban experience of middle America. It is hard to think of a city or building which represents the opposite of mundane middle America. In this I see an idea forming for my assignment 3, an idea which has been brooding away at the back of my mind for a few weeks now as I have been working through the course and starting to tackle assignment 3. I live in a city which itself is very far removed from mundane middle America, Edinburgh, Scotland. Gothic and spectacular the old town of Edinburgh is but that does not stop the the moments in time experienced by it’s citizens being indecisive. For the good people of the city the gothic and the spectacular become a faded backdrop and life is simply life with all it’s mundane indecision. So the idea forms to express the juxtaposition of mundane within a spectacular context.

Of course, as shown in Paris, when in danger we will snap out of this state and recognise again our surroundings. I suspect the same would be true of any middle American town or city although without the added wrench of hundreds of years of history being torn from us.

Thankfully it looks like the cathedral will remain and shall be rebuilt to its former glory.

Exercise 3.3: What matters is to look

Brief

Find a good viewpoint, perhaps fairly high up (an upstairs window might do) where you can see a wide view or panorama. Start by looking at the things closest to you in the foreground. Then pay attention to the details in the middle distance and then the things towards the horizon. Now try and see the whole view together, from the foreground to horizon (you can move your eyes). Include the sky in your observation and try to see the whole visual field together, all in movement. When you’ve got it, raise your camera and release the shutter. Add the picture and a description of the process to your learning log.

Idea

My idea was to catch motion of bird flight ( probably seagull but possibly pigeon ) at slow shutter speed such that the motion would appear fluid. I attempted a few different shutter speeds from 1/30th s to 1s. At either end of this spectrum the result ranged from; slight look of out of focus to the bird dissappears completely. At 400ms i found a wonderful effect where the flight of seagulls transforms completely into what looks more like an energy wave, but the bird stays within the frame and has enough impact on the sensor to be engaging.

Process

I attempted to set up with a tripod, however found that i could not react quickly enough to capture the moving bird within the frame, so i took the shots free hand, leaning on whatever was available to help steady myself.

From my vantage point i had to set the lens to max 70mm in order to get enough resolution in the bird in flight. I initially tried my 140mm lens however found again that i could not manage to catch anything in the frame.

I set the camera to shutter priority and ISO auto allowing the camera to select the best balance between ISO and aperture for the available light. I settles down and watched the scene waiting for the moment to take the shot. As soon as i saw a bird ready to take flight or about to enter the frame in flight, i quickly move the camera so the bird was in the frame and took the shot.

The shot below, is seagull moving directly across the frame. At faster shutter speed it is possible for the viewer to see the bird all be it blurred and at slower speeds the wave is stretched and lighter so fades into the background.

Other times i have taken this shot the bird changes direction in flight and the effect is a more compressed wave, as can be seen here.

It is clear in this shot that the combination of moving the camera to catch the shot and slow shutter speed results in the background being blurred. As mentioned I found using the tripod fruitless in being able to catch the shots. In conclusion though I think that the blurred background adds to the abstract nature of these shots and so actually helps in the overall effect of asking the question to the viewer ‘what do you think you are looking at?’

Presentation and sequence – more

Mentioned on blog entry presentation and sequence, my tutor recently advised me to consider, the medium of presentation whilst creating my series of photographs for the assignments in EYV. In the blog i considered a photobook as the medium for presentation ( other media could be; magazine, art gallery, internet etc ). In this blog I consider how to think about your photographs in the context of an art gallery. I have selected a few shots which are in the contact sheet for my assignment 3 which I am currently working towards. Using photoshop to resize cut-n-paste I embedded the shots within an image of an art gallery. This gives a really good indication of how these photographs would look in this setting.

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