Learning
log – P&P assignment 1; A portrait
“The photograph is
an undeniably powerful medium. Free from the constraints of language, and
harnessing the unique qualities of a single moment frozen in time.”
(Steve McCurry – Taken from the website, www.121clicks.com)
I
love this quote, it is so true, a photograph does not need words, so long as it
powerful enough and on researching Steve McCurry he certainly takes powerful
photographs. This photo for example;-
(“Afghan girl” Taken by Steve McCurry in December
1984)
This is by far one of the most powerful, poignant and
famous photographs of our time, the shear focus on her eyes draws you in and
makes you wonder what she is thinking, the hardship she has suffered and trauma
she has endured, even if this image was not titled you can tell from her
cloths, her eyes and the expression on her face, that all is not right in her
world.
On looking through his images, they move me, as I’m sure
they do with countless others, he is a true genius in portraiture and travel photography
and is not scared to wonder outside of the “norm” to be able to get that
amazing shot.
My Thoughts
On receiving this entire module, my first thought was not
a nice word!, I felt extremely uncomfortable and slightly scared. I know it probably
sounds silly to most but it is not until you actually think, I mean really
think about what you have to do/achieve until you sit there and think about it,
I think what worries/worried me was, that it was so far out of my comfort zone,
I couldn’t even see the zone anymore!. Then scary part is trying to take photographs
of people who you don’t know, without their knowledge, I somehow feel like a
thief in a way, as I’m not sure how I would feel being in a photograph on the internet, but
not know it, it’s almost similar to an invasion of privacy. However, this
particular assignment is about your subject being aware, which I actually enjoyed,
my first panic was who could I get to do it, who I knew was photogenic,
luckily, I had some lovely ladies to help me out and all of them were naturals
and did not need much guidance, ultimately, I really enjoyed the exercises and
assignments.
Strengths on my
assignment
I think I would have to say my locations, which doesn’t
surprise me due to my love for Landscape photography. My composition, as always
I think is good, but there is always room for improvement.
Weaknesses on
my assignment
I found it extremely difficult and frustrating to get a
really sharp image, every time, first time. I think the thing I lack is patience,
I know that I always pull away to soon and this hinders my images, the thing
is, I know I do it, so I’m aware, however, I find extremely difficult to stop,
it’s something I have to work on, maybe take a breath after I have pressed the
shutter, so I know I have to take that breath, it may slow me down a bit. I
would like some advice on how to get a pin sharp image if anyone if offering?.
Some of my
research sources-Books, websites and documents;-
- Photos for the future 2: Sutton publishing and The History Channel (A look at photography throughout 100 of history, up to the year 2000, it includes a plethora of interesting portraits of how the world was, the people and the incidents that surrounded those changes)
- The Times picture collection- Explorers, a history in photographs: by Richard Sale and Madeleine Lewis (Another look throughout history of the people how explored the globe to great lengths and the people they encountered along the way)
- http://121clicks.com/inspirations/steve-mccurry-inspiration-from-masters-of-photography -(A look in to Steve McCurry’s work and profile)
- http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/ -(To retrieve the photo I needed for this assignment)
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