London Visit (5&6/04/14)

Last weekend I visited London as I wanted to look around the galleries and museums and had an brilliant time, I arrived in London early Saturday morning as I caught the train at 7am and caught the train home 7pm Sunday night. In a two day period I visited Tate Britain, The National Portrait Gallery, The National Gallery, Tower of London, National Maritime Museum and British Museum. The main things I wanted to do in London was see the David Bailey exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, see the Turner exhibition at the National Maritime Museum and have a look around the British Museum. I only took my 35mm camera and phone to take photographs on as it didn't want to kart my heavy digital camera around and wanted to shoot mainly black and white 35mm . A key highlight of the trip was the huge pillow fight in Trafalgar Square which I photographed, I went right in the middle of it taking photographs and also shot some double exposures, I can’t wait to get back to Uni and develop the film to see what I got. Other than the galleries (which I will talk about in individual blog posts) highlights of the trip were seeing Roman coins from the time of Emperor Nero and seeing marble statues of Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus from the Roman period. I also saw armour belonging to King Henry VIII in the Tower of London, this was interesting as it gives a sense of scale and shows his weight gain throughout his life. I wish I could have stayed in London longer as I could only stay in each gallery for a short time if I wanted to see everything I wanted to see.   

Pillow fight in Trafalgar Square. (35mm photographs coming late April)

Marble bust of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in British Museum 

Marble bust of Roman Emperor Lucius Verus in British Museum

Armour of King Henry VIII aged 23

Himley Hall Shoot (03/04/14)

This is my first shoot from coming back home from Manchester, where I live is close to both city and rural areas so I can shoot in both. I walked to Himley Hall which is a local park and woodland area, trying to find geometric structure in a rural area is different to what I have done in Manchester so my work would contrast nicely. Firstly I found some cut down trees which made an interesting composition but the subject matter wasn't that strong so I moved on. Next I found a set of metal steps leading to a door which had an interesting composition, I shot the composition side on as they looked good in a more silhouette two dimensional form. Eventhough I didn't plan on shooting steps I always seem to photograph them as they always have interesting lines and structure. I made sure all the vertical lines in the composition were parallel with the side of the composition to reflect the geometric structure, plus this is something I naturally like to do when composing a photograph. Next I found a wooden set of stairs leading into the side of a wooden sailing building. The stairs had wooden panels heading in a variety of directions and the contrast between horizontal, vertical and slanted panels created an interesting aesthetic. I shot the stairs quite close up taking the overall shape of the stairs out of context and creating a new shape out its lines. I think shooting objects and architecture up close will work better as the photograph focus on pattern rather than an existing structure. 

From the shoot I learned that I can find geometric structures in rural as well as urban areas and that if I shoot structures up close I can create a new pattern. I just have to maintain 'the everyday' theme and not shoot structures that are too complicated and shoot things people could see everyday. I think I will also start focusing on shooting stairs as they seem to be my main subject matter and although they all have the same use every set of stairs has a different aesthetic. 

  

Post of the Day (31/03/14)

I started off this morning my going into Uni and editing my photograph from Saturday (in the blog post below). One I done this I wandered around the photography section of the building to see if Alan was about but he wasn't so I went into town and brought the Nikon FM I was saving for, I'm glad I've got a 35mm camera of my own so I haven't got to keep hiring the FM from the AV Store. I also brought it to take to London because I'm going there this weekend and want to shoot film. When I brought the camera I got a free roll of film so I walked around the city shooting, I didn't shoot with a real objective I just wanted to test the camera and explore to find some interesting compositions. I will process the film in the morning before my group seminar. I also completed my research post for Deidi von Schaewen who's book I found yesterday in the library, her work is very inspiring as she is able to photograph wall people see everyday but as the photographs are displayed in a book they work as a narrative very well. Tomorrow I've got my cross group seminar in the morning then I'll go into the city and take some photographs, I want to focus on both 2D and 3D structures then over the Easter break narrow down my subject matter to find what I want my gallery pieces to consist of.  

Re-shoot Photograph

This is a photograph from my shoot on Saturday taken in the parking structure under the Convention Complex, the white walls have a cubist shape with their sharp jagged corners showing how something as simple as a stair set can contain interesting abstract shapes. I liked this composition as the background is symmetrical emphasizing the jagged shapes of the walls. I post processed this photograph quite a bit to get the aesthetic I wanted. The photograph consists of two exposures, one for the background and one for the white walls. It was impossible to correctly expose that walls and background in one photograph so I used a tripod to to take two different exposures and combined them in Photoshop, I edited each exposure individually to get them how I wanted them and combined them later. I had to use the spot removal tool in Lightroom to patch areas of the white wall as it contained a lot of dark marks and scratches and I wanted the wall to a flat shade of white so it would emphasis its form. I like how the photograph came out and would like to focus on similar geometric subject matter as it makes for an interesting photograph and is also fun to shoot, I have to make sure I keep to the 'Everyday' theme and photograph things that can be seen everyday and not photograph things that are too extravagant.       

Deidi von Schaewen 'Walls' Research

I found Schaewen's book 'Walls' in the library and took an instant interest in it. The book links to my work in the way that she has photographed a piece of subject matter that people see everyday but never really take any notice however when you photograph it and present it as a narrative it becomes interesting. There is a quote in the book that reads ''A subject that they look at everyday, but never see'' this represents that fact that although these things are interesting they have become such common place in society that people never notice them. Schaewen documents how nature and weather over time has effected the walls changing the texture of the wall creating new textures and patterns, she if finding new patterns and textures in an already existing piece of subject matter, this is similar to what I am trying to do in finding interesting geometric shapes in architecture and objects. The book contains photographs taken in Berlin, Barcelona, New York, Berlin and many more, the book flows so well you cant even tell which countries the photographs were taken in. The walls have changed from on type of art form to another, they were initially used as a canvas for painted advertisements and over time the wall has been subjected to the elements so the wall has been transformed making new patterns and textures. Each wall contains a different texture and pattern so she is managing to find different versions of the same thing, this is something I've been trying to do especially this last week I have focused on mainly photographing different types of steps and staircases finding how a simple design can be interpreted and presented in different ways. 

The 4 photographs above show how the photograph work much better as a set that represent a narrative, individually the photographs don't really convey the message of the work. For the gallery showing I want to present around 6-8 photographs as that will express the narrative of my work far better than an individual photograph. 

I chose to show the photograph above (New York, 1970) as it contains interesting lines created by shadows, much of the wall is a consistent texture however the shadows dissect it like the lines of a Piet Mondrian painting. Yesterday I went out photographing walls trying to find interesting lines and contrasting textures however my subject matter is more modern architecture than brick structures. 

Schaewen's work has been influential as it has shown me that this type of work works better presented as a set as it successfully displays a narrative, it has also showed me that banal subject matter can become interesting when photographed and presented in narrative form.     

Post of the Day (30/03/14)

This morning I went into the city and focused on shooting interesting patterns and lines on walls, this was inspired by the photograph I took of the wall last week that has a similar composition to the paintings of Mark Rothko. I walked around The Avenue then to the Arndale Centre hoping the modern architecture would make for interesting geometric subject matter, I only found a few interesting compositions and didn't get as many photographs as I wanted. The three photographs I did get work well as a set but don't make for as interesting subject matter as the photographs I took yesterday. I'm going to talk to Alan this week as I need a bit of guidance in narrowing down my subject matter as at the moment I'm shooting quite a wide range of things. I also need to do some more research, today I found a book in the library by Deidi von Schaewen titled 'Walls' that contains over 100 photographs of different walls and the patterns and graffiti that adorn them, it shows how a simple piece of subject matter can work when photographed as a set as long as all the photographs are interesting. 

Tomorrow I plan on going into Uni and combining the exposures to finish the photograph I took yesterday. Then hopefully I can speak to Alan and he can give me some guidance on where to take my project from here as I'm not quite sure where to take my work next. I'm going to try and shoot everyday this week plus I'm going to London on Saturday so I'm also going to shoot in London.   

Wall Pattern Shoot (30/03/14)

Today I focused on shooting 2D structures and documenting their patterns and lines in an attempt to express the fact that interesting patterns can be found in everyday places.The inspiration for the photographs comes from the paintings of Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian that focus on form and geometric structure.  I found it hard to find interesting subject matter even in a big city like Manchester that contains a lot of interesting architecture. I managed to find a few compositions that contained interesting patterns and lines made from a variety of materials. I walked around The Avenue and the Arndale Centre hoping that the modern architecture would provide some interesting subject matter. I found many of the structures to be too simple and similar containing brick work and steel pillars, I need to explore the city to find more interesting subject matter. This week and over the Easter break I need to shoot as much as I can to find consistent subject that works well as a set. 

Re-shoot of Yesterdays Photographs

Today I re-shot the photographs I took yesterday that got ruined. I visited the same locations and re-shot the compositions but also shot some new compositions, the main subject matter for the photographs was staircases as I shot in mainly parking structures which typically have geometric architecture. I went out early because I knew it was going to be sunny in the morning and I wanted my outside shots to be took in sunlight. For today I shot in digital colour whereas originally the photographs were black and white 35mm but I feel the photos will work well in colour as a lot of the photos contain contrasting colours.  The first place I went was the parking structure under the Convention Complex and re-shot a composition I took yesterday, I wont be able to upload the image to my bog until Monday as I have to use Photoshop to combine two exposures and I don't have Photoshop on this laptop. I re-shot the same stair set from a different angle and shot it portrait and from a different angle, I feel that the photographs I took today all have strong compositions and I used a tripod and took my time composing each photograph as I want the viewers eye to move around the image flowing with the architecture. I then moved onto a parking structure opposite Beetham tower, I shot the same composition I shot yesterday but shot it from a variety of angles where-as when I was shooting film I only took one exposure of the structure. 

I feel the photographs I took today are all very successful so it has taken the sting out of the fact I lost the 35mm versions. I'm slowly narrowing down my subject matter but still need to take more photographs to find out exactly what I want my gallery pieces to consist of. Tomorrow I plan on photographing flatter 2D structures which I have been meaning to do for a while in an attempt to show how interesting abstract patterns can be found on the simplest of structures and walls. 

This (above) photograph was taken in the parking structure under the Convention Complex. I was drawn to this stair set as it had a very geometric shape like the structures of a Cubist painting. It's white aesthetic and contrasting black hand rails refine the shape. I remember something Alan told me about composing photographs, you have to keep the viewers eye in the frame so this I what I was composing for. I wanted the vertical lines to be parallel with the frame so they fit well in the frame and don't lead the viewers eye out of it. When composing the photographs there we a lot of things I had to keep out like various signs and lights that would have been laid over the frame. I think the photograph works well in conveying that interesting lines can appear in the most mundane structures. 

This is my favorite photograph from the shoot and one of my favorite photographs I've taken for this project so far. I constructed the photograph so your eye would move naturally up the stairs and made sure I included the staircase from the bottom to the top. I think the dark tones of the hand rails contrasts with the bricks brilliantly enhancing the shape and perspective of the structure. The image had natural contrast due to the hard shadows projected by the sunlight which enhance the geometric theme of the photograph. The photograph contains a variety of textures from the rough brick work to the dark hand rails which in themselves contain dark static tones and bright reflections of sunlight. I'm not glad my film was ruined but I feel that this photograph almost makes up for it. 

This is a composition I photographed yesterday and in roughly the same conditions. The main thing that interested me with this staircase was the variety of textures and tones. Although the entire thing is made of steel the grey tones of the staircase contrasts well with the chrome rail and the yellow lines. The sun was in a great position in projecting shadows however the sun was a little dimmed by the clouds when I took the exposure. I feel the subject matter might be a little overwhelming with the amount of lines and rails heading in all directions so I might have to simplify my subject matter.

Post of the Day (28/03/14)

First thing I'll say in this post is that I've lost the photographs I took in Blackpool and the photographs I took today. I was using the c41 machine and had my role of film hooked up on the wall before I put it through the machine, I then went back outside to see how much time I had before the mechanism moved. When I got the film out of the machine it was over exposed so I had left the door slightly open when I went out of the room which ruined the film. I'm disappointed my film was ruined but I'm glad that I didn't ruin anyone else's because the would have been even worse. It's not that bad as I didn't take that many photos in Blackpool as the surroundings didn't really fit into what I want my work to look like plus the photographs I took in Manchester today I can re-shoot this weekend in digital. At least now I know to make sure both doors are completely closed when you enter and leave the room, although I've made a mistake I've definitely learned from it.

Today I walked around quite a few underground parking structures such as the one under the Manchester Convention Complex and a parking structure opposite Beetham Tower. I found the architecture to be very interest especially staircases so I photographed quite a few staircases. I'm still quite confused as to what I want the subject matter of my work to be so over the Easter break I want to refine my range of subject matter and focus on exactly what I want it to be. I wanted to focus on two dimensional patterns on walls however I got distracted with interesting stair structures  so when I've re-shot today's photographs I will focus much more on two dimensional patterns.

I'm going to re-shoot today's photographs in digital so I can photograph them and upload them to my blog quickly and take more photographs as I plan on taking quite a lot of photographs this weekend as I haven't took that many photographs this week and I need to make up for that.       

Post of the Day (26/03/14)

I went out this morning and brought some black and white film then hired the Nikon FM2 camera from the AV Store as I wanted to shoot film this week and shoot film tomorrow in Blackpool. I walked around the city today taking photographs but didn't take many as the weather was quite bad an I'm determined to shoot as many photographs as I can in sunlight and I want the photographs to have natural contrast and hard shadows. I just so happened to walk past the Castlefield Gallery so I went in and had a look around. The work in there was by the artist Iain Andrews and consisted of paintings and illustrations, their subject matter was centered around the stage and people performing but they were painted in a very free style that looked like abstract impressionism as you have to look very close to work out where the figures are. It almost looks like he painted a scene in the Renaissance style of Raphael or Michelangelo and then intuitively smudged the paint. His work was very interesting and different to anything I've seen. This week I want to focus on photographing flatter structures that focus on shape and a more two dimensional pattern (like the photograph I compared to Rothko's work last week). I want to have a set of images that flows nicely and has similar subject matter but individually the photographs will still be strong. 

 

(Above) One of Andrews paintings at the Castlefield Gallery.