Mark Rothko Influence

My recent set of photographs were influenced by the work of painters Rothko and Mondrian who paint blocks of shape and form which was an influence on my work. I was also interested in the geometric forms of cubism and tried to photograph geometric form within everyday surroundings. One composition I found was very similar to Rothko's paintings with its block shaped forms, I thought of Rothko's work when I composed the photograph with the square vent positioned in the center of the composition. I think the photograph would have worked better in colour however it still works in black and white. 

Post of the Day (21/03/14)

Today I printed my latest set of photos in the darkroom. Out of 36 exposures I printed my 7 favorite but I fell the images I did print are all strong. I'm pleased with how the photographs came out and they work well as a set which was my weakness during the last project as the photographs had different levels of contrast however this set of photographs work much better as I tried to match the levels of contrast in each photo. I want to continue photographing pattern and line within society not necessarily in architecture but in many forms. I also want to use medium format as I'm thinking of photographing my final images using medium format.   

19/03/14 Shoot

This week I decided to photograph interesting lines and abstract shapes within pieces of architecture in an attempt to show how everyday piece of architecture that people walk past everyday hold interesting and abstract patterns and shapes. I was influenced by the work of photographer David Plowden who photographs architecture and street scenes, his photographs are very well composed and geometric. I was also inspired by the paintings of Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian who focus on painting shape and pattern. I used 35mm black and white film for the shoot taking photographs over a two day period. The first day was very sunny which meant I could photograph interesting shadow shapes interesting with the landscape, I could also achieve contrasty images which is what I wanted. I found that Deansgate and modern areas of the city made the best subject matter as the architecture is very sharp and contains interesting forms and patterns. Most of the photographs I ended up printing were taken on the first day as the shadows are a key part of the photo. The second day I shot the weather was overcast so the landscape was very flat but I made the most of it. Out of the 36 exposures I printed just 7 photographs but all the photograph I printed I felt were strong. Whilst printing the photographs I made the quite contrasty and tried to make the photographs work as a set as last time a printed in the darkroom the photos were all aesthetically quite different so I tried to match the exposure and contrast in all the photos but obviously not all the images can match perfectly. I think this set of photographs works better than the portrait photos I took last week as the subject matter is less obvious but far more interesting. I think I want to develop this work and more maybe shoot medium format and move back to colour film.    

 

This photograph in particular was inspired by the work of Mark Rothko in terms of composition and using block of texture and tone. I like how the photograph contains many different textures from the flat all the distressed brick work and grid lines on the pavement. I also slightly burned the bottom section of the photograph as the pavement was slightly over exposed and made the image look rather flat, it was the first time I'd burned using the enlarger but it wasn't too difficult as the area was straight so I used a black piece of A4 card. This is one of my favorite photographs from the set. 

This is my favorite photograph of the set, the variety of lines in the image work well overlapping is very strong. Sunlight and shadow play a huge part in the photograph in creating contrast and jagged shadows that a key part of the image. The steps have an interesting texture and the sunlight creates contrasting horizontal lines. It took a while to compose the photograph as I wanted the rail to sit comfortably in the frame and lead your eye up the composition. This photograph is evidence that interesting shapes and patterns can appear anywhere in everyday society. 

This photograph was taken in Manchester Art Gallery and was the hardest of all the photographs I took to compose as I wanted all the vertical lines to be perfect and there areas on both sides of the photo I wanted to leave out. I found the staircases and hand rails made brilliant subject matter as they're geometric and twist and turn through the composition. I slightly burned the top right area of the image as it was too bright and I wanted the chrome rail to stand out from the background. The photograph sits with the narrative of the set which is that interesting patterns can appear anywhere in society.

 

Post of the Day (19/03/13)

Today I went into the city and started focusing on photographing line, shape and form within architecture and objects in an attempt to create interesting compositions. I wanted to move away from shooting people doing everyday things as that was far too obvious. I was influenced by the work of William Eggleston who photographs to everyday but not the obvious but also the work of Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothko who create basic shapes. Today I photographed things from walls that contained interesting lines to stairs and rails, things that had interesting lines that move your eye around the composition. I walked around Manchester for about 5 hours and only took about 20 photographs, I only photographed things I knew would make an interesting composition and was very picky about what I photographed. Today it was sunny so I was about to use shadow as a key element and photograph shadows that had interesting line and shape. I need to finish my role of film tomorrow morning and see if my darkroom paper get delivered so I can get in the darkroom and print the photographs. I also completed my William Eggleston research then went to the library and borrowed a Cartier Bresson book and a Don McCullin book.  

William Eggleston Research

Eggleston is a photographer that fits into the theme of 'The Everyday' brilliantly as he photographs everyday objects, landscapes and situations in an attempt to heighten their appearance and make them seem more interesting. One way he heightens the subject matter is to use a process called dye-transfer printing which involves using a higher quality of ink to saturate the colours. It work well as he is printing everyday subject matter using the highest quality techniques, for the exhibition I want print my photographs on a high quality paper on a large scale as it will give the photograph a sense of presence. 

The photograph above is a one of Eggleston's that stood out to me immediately. It contains so many everyday elements that represent American culture from the simple wooden construction of the building to the corporate logos and classic gas pumps. Eggleston has photographed everyday subject matter but photographed it in late afternoon light so there are warm tones and long shadows making the image more dramatic and printed it using the dye-transfer method. 

''I am at war with the obvious'' William Eggleston

I was shooting today and refused to photograph anything that was too obvious, I had a conversation with Alan on Monday and he said that when you photograph it needs to be a struggle and you need to only photograph interesting subject matter so today I spent around 5 hours shooting and only took 20 photographs on 35mm film. Today I focused on photographing shape, line and form within pieces of everyday architecture and objects. I was influenced by Egglestone's philosophy of photographing the everyday but not the obvious and the work of fine artists Piet Mondrian and Mark Rothko who use basic shapes to create interesting compositions. From reading Eggleston book and watching a Youtube documentary Ive learned a lot about his work and how he manages to photograph everyday landscapes and situations and heightens them so they become an interesting piece of subject matter. His photographs look like they were created in another world when they were created in this one.     

Post of the Day (18/03/13)

My aims for today were to go out and shoot some more photographs and complete my research for William Eggleston and Martin Parr, I have shot some more photographs and I'm about to do my William Eggleston research but I don't think I will have time to do my Martin Parr research so I will do that tomorrow. I was disappointed I only managed to get three photographs on my shoot today especially due to the fact I walked so far but I'm happy with the tree I did get. 

Tomorrow I plan on going into the city and shooting some more photographs still being quite broad because at the moment I'm struggling to find an interesting subject to photograph so I will experiment until I find something I want to develop further, hopefully by researching more photographers and going more places I will find something and come up with some interesting ideas.    

Todays Shoot (Building Facade Faces)

Today I decided to walk around the city and try and find more faces in objects and buildings and photograph them carrying on from the photographs I had taken last week. I tried to show how the subliminal faces in the buildings show emotion but there is no life behind them just shape.Today I shot digital as I needed to zoom into the buildings so I used my 24-120mm lens. I walked down the Bridgewater Canal up Deansgate then to Northern Quarter and back, I walked for a long time not finding anything then near Deansgate I found a square staircase the winds towards the top, I shot the staircase looking up from bottom to top with the top of the staircase in the center. The staircase didn't have anything to do with what I was aiming to photograph but it was very photogenic and had an interesting form. I walked through Northern Quarter not finding anything then back near Oxford Rd I found two compositions that were very interesting. 

This photograph was taken near Oxford Rd and contains what appears to be a face with the dark windows making up the eyes and the entrance representing a mouth. The windows are very reflective so it looks like its eyes are welling up giving the photograph a sad aesthetic. I'm aiming to show that you don't have to be a living creature to have a living aesthetic but unlike a living create it has no feelings and contains no life. I cropped the original photograph significantly so the photograph only contains the face cropping out everything that didn't contribute to it, I also straightened the photograph making sure the vertical lines were perfect. I learned from my conversation with Alan that you need to keep the viewers eye inside the composition so I cropped it tight just focusing on the bare essential piece of the facade. 

The building facade contains another face however shows a different emotion then the previous photograph. The face looks sad due to its down sloping windows that represent a mouth but the face also looks angry due to the black window frame that look like sharp teeth. Like the last photograph I cropped and straightened the composition so its parallel with the side of the frame. 

I edited the photographs in Photoshop cutting out the facial features so you can see which parts of the facade contribute to the face, I left the background white and then filled it red just to experiment with colour. I like the aesthetic of the photographs and they have an interesting idea behind them but I don't feel that they are strong enough to develop so now I'm going to explore onto something different but maybe still focus so shape.

Post of the Day (17/03/13)

My plan for today was to talk to Alan in the morning the scan my negatives then go into the city and shoot then work on my blog posts for the rest of the day. I learned a lot from my conversation with Alan this morning, we went over my last reflective journal as I need to improve my research. He told me that it needs to be less formal and show my initial thoughts on photographs and make notes on the photographs rather than set the writing out in a completely formal way. I also told him about the work I had done for this project so far and he told me that I need to make the work very individual and not shoot obvious ideas but you have to struggle to come up with new individual ideas. I found the conversation to be a huge help in my practice and getting me inspired to shoot. After that I scanned my negatives then went out to shoot with a few friends walking from Uni to the Etihad Stadium in East Manchester. I only took 2 photographs during the shoot but all I was focused on re-visiting a shoot last week when I was trying to find facial structures in the street, I found a facial shape on the front of a boat on the canal and a building facade. I'm shooting black and white 35mm film and want to get a few more photos for this idea then move onto something new. 

Tomorrow I plan on doing research for William Eggleston and Martin Parr as these are two photographers who shoot everyday society but heighten it using composition colour and printing techniques. I also want to go into the city and shoot more photographs. 

Last Week Shoot(s)

One interesting thing I found was a small structure someone had built to house ducks by the canal then about 10 meters around the corner I found some boxes under a bridge that looked like homeless people would sleep on. I thought it was interesting that people were doing something to make sure ducks had a home whereas homeless people are left to their own devises. I wanted to get a duck in the photograph so it was obvious what the structure was for so I waited for a duck to appear then because I didn't have any food on me at the time I started throwing rocks into the canal so the duck would enter the composition I had chosen then waited for it to turn towards the camera. 

Last Weeks Shoot(s)

For this shoot I decided to focus on shooting people doing daily mundane things such as reading a book or smoking a cigarette. I shot 35mm colour film, the only problem was I had to light meter a location before I took the photograph I so was constantly light metering as I was walking which isn't ideal when you need to be shooting fast so if I shoot people on the streets again I will use digital. I also used out of date film so the photographs are slightly more grainy than I would like them to be so I reduced the grain in post processing, although I've learned I don't really want to use out of date film unless I have to. I scanned the negatives then cropped and edited them in Adobe Lightroom not really manipulating the photograph just correcting the colours, contrast and exposure. 

At the time when I took the photographs I was happy with them however I spoke to Alan this morning and he said that I need to shoot things that are less obvious to the theme and you have to really struggle to find interesting subject matter so your work is more individual and interesting. I've also learned that if I'm shooting subjects on the streets I'm going to use digital so I can shoot faster and don't have constantly light meter the location.