Work Log 6 & 7

Ideas for my shoot

• I would like to try to capture photos in a place where there are old building and new buildings in the same place
• Aim to capture direct juxtaposition in one image 

Contact Sheet

The intentions for this shoot were to focus on juxtaposition within one frame of an image. By this I mean that I wanted to go somewhere that architectural juxtaposition had been built. I have annotated the contact sheet with ticks and crosses based on whether I feel the image was successful or not. I have also annotated some of the images in regards to why I have ticked or crossed the image. 

My Best Images 

I have selected this image as one of my best because I like the direct juxtaposition that I have created. I like the way that I have photographed architectural juxtaposition in one image. This is what I wanted to aim to complete in this shoot and I feel as though this is an example of an image that has been very successful.  

I have chosen this image because I like the the specific building that I am photographing. The architecture is very interesting and is unlike any other buildings that I have seen. This is the Lloyds building in London.  

I have chosen this image as one of my best because I like the way in which there is direct juxtaposition within the image which is what I wanted to achieve in this photo shoot. I feel as though I need to edit this image slightly because I think that the scaffolding in the right side of the image ruins the photos aesthetic. I can crop this out using photoshop. 

Although this image is just focused on modern architecture I like the composition of the image because there is a building in each third of the image. I like this compositional arrangement as I feel like it makes the image more aesthetically pleasing. 

Images that require improvement 

I have chosen this as an image that I think needs improving because it is over exposed. When taking this photo I used an aperture of f/5 and I believe that the lens opening was too wide. Due to the camera being aimed at the sky anyway I feel as though the wide opening and the brightness of the sky resulted in an over exposed image. I also used an ISO of 400. This means that I could have probably used a lower ISO whilst the weather was slightly brighter. 

I have chosen this as an image that requires improvement because I do not feel as though this image is based on either juxtaposition or architecture.  

Camera Settings

When shooting I mainly used an ISO of 400 however there was a situation whilst shooting where I was shooting in an small road and there was limited amounts of light. I firstly shouted with an ISO of 400 and then increased this to 800. This made the image brighter. Below is the examples of these images.

To take this photo I used an ISO of 400.

To take this photo I used an ISO of 800.

During this shoot my aperture ranged quite a lot. This was because in darker areas I had to decrease the aperture because I wanted to let more light into the camera by increasing the size of the lens opening. Due to this my aperture ranged from f/5.6 to f/16. Although this is quite a wide range it was necessary due to the changing weather conditions, from bright to dark. In regards to the shutter speed I used shutter speeds from 1/200 to 1/600. When experimenting with camera settings I found that the shorter shutter speeds created photos with a more even exposure. The longer shutter speeds created images that were under or over exposed depending on the other settings I was using at the time.

Experimentation

To complete my experimentation I used many different photos. I mainly attempted to use images from my most recent shoots however the photos that I used were from a range of images that I have taken within my juxtaposition project. 

I simply used different images and ripped them with my hands to create a distressed look. I feel as though this distressed look follows on from the burning edits I did as they both have a rustic feel to them. 

Below is the final edit that I have created.

I liked this edit however I wanted to expand my experimentation within a collage to create something slightly different to the other edit that I created in regards to using parts of multiple images. 

Below I used two different images and ripped them into strips. I then placed them next to each other alternatively so that juxtaposition between the old and new architecture was very clear and straight forward. 

I like this edit because it is slightly abstract in the way that its been created. 

I would like to use this image and look at burning techniques to follow on from the previous edits that I have completed on burning photos. 

Looking at my edits I would like to incorporate some digital edits as well as physical edits to complete further experimentation. I would like to complete a shoot to do with nature to use as a background for the physical edits that I have completed. I would like to take photos of nature because  there are small elements of nature in my architectural images like trees covering some of the photo or vines over the older buildings. I would like to have that slight link between the background however also showing a juxtaposition between the background (nature) and the foreground (manmade). 

Contact Sheet 

My aims for this shoot were to photograph different elements of nature allowing me to choose between a range of photos to see which ones will work as a background for my physical edits. 

Best Images

I have chosen this image as one of my best because I like the contrast of the green leaves and the darker branches. I like the saturated colour of the green leaves and I feel as though this is very effective.  

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the fine detailing of the flowers on the branches. I also like the soft tones of the white and the pale blue. 

I have chosen this image as one of my best. Although the parts at the top of the image are slightly over exposed I will just use the middle section of the image. I like the different textures of the bark and the leaves within the image.  

Overall I have chosen these three images as my best images because each of them have different textures which will make each background unique. 

Further Experimentation

During my further experimentation I have used the shoot I completed on different elements of nature and put them together with the edits that I completed by cutting and sticking different parts of buildings together. 

Firstly I opened this image in photoshop. I then selected the outline of the architectural structure that I created in the original edit. I selected this using the magnetic lasso tool. 

I then clicked 'select' and then 'inverse'. This selected the entire image as well as the part that I had already selected. I then clicked the backspace button on the keyboard which deleted all of the background around the area I selected. 

I then dragged the image of nature that I wanted to put behind the building into photoshop. I then coped and pasted this over the top of the architectural edit in photoshop. 

Once the two images were over the top of each other I created a mask on top of the image of the tree. I ensured that the black colour was selected on the paint brush tool. I then painted over the top of the photo which revealed the architectural structure underneath. 

I repeated this for each of the edits that I completed using different images. 

  Further Experimentation 

To experiment even further with my edits I wanted to use another photographer to be influenced by. I decided to create physical and digital edits in response to Daniella Zalcman's images. 

Digital Edits 

Firstly I opened both of the images that I wanted to use into photoshop. I then selected one of the images by clicking 'cmd+A' and then I clicked 'cmd+C'. This copied the entire image. Next I pasted the image on top of the other image that I was using. 

Once both of the images were in photoshop I moved them to ensure that they were where I wanted them to be and then I lowered the opacity on the image that I copied over the top of the background photo. This made the background image visible. 

I then altered the images to black and white and used the settings to alter the strength of the black and white setting in different areas of the image. 

Below are the final images that I created. 

Physical Edits 

For my first physical edit I printed the two individual photos that I wanted to overlay however I printed the image above on tracing paper. 

I then placed the two images on top of one another and I created the image above. 

I like this image however I feel as though the building in the background isn't as visible as I would like it to be therefore I would like to try and complete another experimental edit. 

During the experimental edit above I decided to go behind the artists concept and rather than just overlapping images I wanted to do something to make the building in the background more visible. I did this by simply ripping holes into the tracing paper to allow parts of the other building to be seen. I feel as though this is effective and I would like to explore this more using different materials. 

I wanted to add something to my previous edit because I felt as though it was slightly simple. I used the same images and scrunched up the tracing paper over the top. I am slightly disappointed with the result of this because it has made the image behind the tracing paper even less visible in certain places.

I wanted to explore juxtaposition in reflection of the artist but go beyond her ideas. I decided that rather than overlapping entire photos it may be more effective to just overlap certain parts of an image. Although I only used one building(old architecture) there is juxtaposition of the perfectly constructed building and the creased, distressed paper. 

Overall within my edits in relation to Daniella Zalcman's images I feel as though the digital edits were more successful because I was able to control the amount of transparency that I used however with the tracing paper it was hard to find a way to allow the building in the background to come through in an obvious way. I would like to include some of these ideas in my final images for this project.  

Where did I get my ideas from?

For my edits I gathered ideas from a range of different places. Firstly I got my ideas from the photographers, Paul Citroen, Daniella Zalcman and Daniella Plunkett. The inspiration that I got from these photograpehrs is explained below. I also gathered ideas from some images in my image bank. I was inspired to use different images and stick them together by looking into different ideas of how to place photos together to make one building. The image below is one example of a photo that inspired me.

I was also inspired by the image that I have placed below. I like the way that the photos done go together seamlessly. I feel as though the edits that I have created do not fit together seamlessly however I have not explored this in as much depth as I would like. This is something I would like to explore more when progressing.



Artist Influence 

The artists that have influenced me during these edits are Paul Citroen, Justin Plunkett and Daniella Zalcman.


Paul Citroen uses a collaging technique to create one image. Within my first experimental edit I used the idea of ripping pieces of buildings out and sticking them together to give it more of a collaged look like Paul Citroens work. Within my first edit I still wanted to try and create an architectural structure that roughly fitted together to influence Justin Plunkett's work. Due to the collaging effect that I used I used some parts that didn't exactly fit into the building and also used some larger cut out pieces to give it more of a surreal look rather than each image fitting seamlessly into each other.

Comparison

On the right is an example of an image by Paul Citroen and on the left is an image that I created.

Within the experiments I was influenced by Justin Plunkett because he puts different materials together to create one architectural structure. I did this however I did it physically with different pieces of images that I have taken. I wanted to expand on the edits I created in my previous work log by using more of a collaged technique within the edits. I made sure that I used images of older and modern architecture to create juxtaposition within my edits. I then decided to create different backgrounds by photographing elements of nature.


I was influenced by Daniella Zalcman because I printed images on tracing paper and then placed this on top of another image. Daniella's images are a mixture of two images. I have tried to recreate this but using the idea of old and new buildings layered on top of each other. To experiment with physical and digital resources I also attempted to create this on photo shop by using layers and opacity.

Comparison 

On the left is an image of Daniella Zalcman's image and on the right is a digital edit that I created, which was influenced by her work.

Progression

To progress from this shoot I want to complete another shoot that includes a range of architecture and edit my images based on Paul Citroen's ideas of collaging. I want to explore this in more depth because I like the way that the edits have turned out. I would like to continue with creating an architectural structure however I would like to expand upon this and use different techniques I have experimented with to include in the structure. For example I would like to incorporate scrunching newspaper into an architectural structure as I do not feel it was that successful by itself. I would also like to explore overlapping images in photoshop as I felt this was he most effective way of doing this.

 

Work Log 4 & 5

Plans for shoots 4&5

Contact Sheet - Shoot 1

My intentions for this shoot were to capture some different elements of older architecture. I wanted to achieve this by looking at different churches as I feel as though they are each very unique. I have annotated the contact sheet with ticks and crosses based on whether I feel the image was successful or not. I have also annotated some of the images in regards to why I have ticked or crossed the image. 

My Best Images 

I have chosen this image as one of my best because I like the way that this doesn't just include a building within the frame of the image. This image frames the door of the church within the gate and I like the effect that this brings to the image. 

I have chosen this image as one of my best because due to the close up angle I have taken this photo at it clearly shows the intricate detail of older architecture and this is what I want to juxtapose within my work therefore I feel this image would be very successful at doing this. 

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the way the image is framed. I feel as though the overall image has an even exposure and all of the elements of the church are in focus. This is good because I want to be able to use all the elements of the image within my edits. 

I like this image due to the angle that I have taken the photo at. I also feel as though when taking this photo I used the correct camera setting due to the even exposure across the image. I like the way that the details within the wood on the door as very visible. 

Images that require improvement 

I have chosen this image as one that needs improving because I set the camera to maul focus when taking this image. Due to this I have caught the wrong focal point within the image and the foreground is slightly blurry whilst the background is clear. When taking this photo I used an aperture of f/4 to create a narrow depth of field and I like the idea of having some image with a narrow death of field however I do not feel this is effective due to the incorrect focal point. 

I have chosen this image as one of my worst because I feel as though the centre of the image is slightly over exposed. When taking this photo I did use a flash due to the gloomy weather conditions. By using this I have made the centre of the image over exposed. 

Camera Settings

During this shoot I used roughly the same camera settings. This was because the weather conditions remained the same throughout the time I was shooting. The weather conditions were very dull therefore I used an ISO of 400. I used this ISO because I did not want the camera to be too sensitive the the lighting as the images would come out overexposed and slightly un focused. I did not want to use a lower ISO because the images would be too dark. I used an aperture range from f/7-f/11. By using this aperture range I was able to capture images that were in focus and had good exposure. If the aperture was set too high, which did happen within this shoot, then the image would come out under exposed. I used a shutter speed of 1/200. This was because I wanted to capture images that had a wide depth of field. I also wanted to freeze motion rather than capturing it. Within this shoot I decided to use a tripod to take some of the photos. This improved the focus of my images as they were not blurry. I also felt as though a tripod allowed me to capture angles more specific ally rather than just spontaneously angling the camera. 

Contact Sheet - Shoot 2

My intentions for this shoot were to take some photos of more modern buildings because I have only done one shoot based on this type of architecture. I also wanted to focus a little more on the more close up shots of try architecture. This is because I wanted to include close up images in the experimental edit I plan to complete when I will use multiple photos to create the structure of one building. I have annotated the contact sheet with ticks and crosses based on whether I feel the image was successful or not. I have also annotated some of the images in regards to why I have ticked or crossed the image.

My Best Images 

I have chose this as one of my nest images because I have taken the image very close up and I like the way that it clearly shows modern architecture rather than older architecture. Although this image doesn't have the best composition out of all the photos that I took I feel as though I can use elements of this image to use within my experimental edit. 

I have chosen this image as one of my best because I like the composition. I like the way that the angle the image has been taken from highlights the height of the building and I also like the fact that the image shows a very modern building. The formal element of line within the image also makes the image look a lot more modern. 

I have chosen this as one of my best images because I like the angle that it has been taken from. I also like the fact that I have captured two different buildings within one image because this will allow me to use different elements of the image within my edits. 

Although this image is slightly under exposed I have chose this because I would like to incorporate this into my edits. Before using this image in my work I would need to alter it in photoshop to give the image a good exposure. 

Images that require improvement 

I have chosen this as one of the images that I need to improve because when I was taking this photo I was very close to the object that I was photographing and I wanted to try and use a flash to enhance the brightness of the image however this caused a reflection of the flash on the image. This ruined the image because it takes away from the image itself. 

I have chosen this as an I'm age that requires improvement because it is under exposed. This is because I used an aperture of f/16. This means that the opening on the camera was not letting enough light in which resulted in a darkened image. 

Camera Settings

When completing this shoot I used an aperture range of f/7 to f/11. In some situations I used the incorrect camera settings and used an aperture of f/16. This produced darkened image due to the opening of the camera not being large en high the let a sufficient amount of light in. There is an example of when this happened within the images that require improvement. After shooting images that came out over exposed I altered the camera settings by lowering the aperture and the images came out a lot better. I used an ISO of 400 as I was shooting outside and it was quite dark. I did not want to use an ISO that was too high because this would have resulted in the image being over exposed as the camera would have been too sensitive to the lighting. I then used a shutter speed of 1/200 throughout the shoot because I wanted to achieve a wide depth of field whilst freezing motion rather than capturing it. If I ha used a higher shutter speed of 1/25 then this may have captured movement. This would have created blur within my images and this is not what I wanted to achieve.

Experimentation

For my first experimentation I physically manipulated some of the photos I have taken. Firstly I used a plain piece of paper to practice burning a hole into it. I wanted to attempt this with plain paper first so that when I attempt it on the actual image I could ensure it would turn out the way I wanted it to.
Below is the piece of paper that I attempted to burn. I felt as though this was successful.

This is the first edit that I completed. To achieve this I simply printed off the two images that I wanted to use and used a lighter to burn a hole through one of the images. I then stuck the other image behind the hole to create juxtaposition. When burning the hole the flame recoloured some of the area around the hole so I want to attempt this again and try to stop this from happening or use photoshop to change this. The image above has been scanned into the computer via a scanner therefore the colours don't look as strong as they do in the original photo. I would also like to try and alter this in photoshop.  

I have attempted to use photoshop to enhance the colour of the image and to try and get rid of the decolorisation within the image. 

I dragged the image I used to burn over the top of the scanned image in photoshop. I then created a layer mask on the image that I dragged into photoshop. I ensured that the colour black and the paint brush tool was selected and then I drew over the burnt part of the image. This revealed this underneath the new image. 

This is the final edit that I have created. I feel as though this is a lot better because the image has been taken directly from my camera and hasn't been scanned into the computer which means that the colours are enhanced. The decolorisation on the image has also been erased.  

Experimentation 2

For my second experimentation I have used a range of images from of all of the shoots I have completed so far. I then cut out different sections from each of the images and placed them together to create one architectural structure. Below are each of the photos that I used to create the overall edit.

This is the final outcome of the edit that I have competed and I feel as though this is very effective. I used scissors, a paper trimmer and glue to create this. I would like to explore this in more detail by adding different textures or putting in a background for the image.  

Where did I get my ideas from?

For the edits and images that I have taken I have gathered my ideas from a number of places. Firstly my artist research, specifically my research on Justin Plunkett, has inspired me to create the experiments that I have. I have also had inspiration from some images within my image bank that I have collected throughout the project. One of the images that inspired me is below. This image influenced me when completing the edit that involved burning the image and placing a juxtaposing image behind it. This is because this image very distinctly shows the contrast between two types of architecture and I felt as though I wanted to create this in a different way and this gave me the idea to burn the image.

Artist Influence

For the first edit I have created I was influenced by Justin Plunkett. This is because he uses digital editing to create architectural structures within a landscape. I wanted to try to recreate this however I wanted to look at physical editing. My work reflects Justin's photos because I have used parts of different buildings to form one structure and he does this but by using different materials he has photographed. Within Justin's photos he juxtaposes the structure with the surrounding background where as I have decided to juxtapose the elements within the structure I have created, old and new architecture. This is an example of how I have gone beyond the artists concepts and used my own ideas to experiment.

Comparison - my work versus artists work 

Below is an example of Justin Plunkett's work. 

Below is an example of my edit that I completed. 

My work links to the photographer because I have attempted to use different elements from a range of buildings to create one architectural structure. This is what Justin did to create his series of images. 

Progression  

To progress I would like to look into a more of a collaged technique rather than trying to fit the different parts of the buildings together seamlessly. I like the idea of creating an architectural structure and I would like to keep expanding on this idea.