P&P-Assignment Five; Learning Log; People and place on assignment

Learning log – P&P assignment 5; People and place on assignment

My Thoughts

This assignment was an extremely challenging process for me, but really enjoyable none the less. I tried to incorporate all of my research and past experience from other assignments to ensure I generated the scope that I was trying to emulate.

I decided to choose this subject, as it is something I have never done before and would certainly help me in future endeavours. It was also a fun way to test myself and my camera, as I rarely make images in very low lighting and I feel it is something I struggle with.

From reading my magazines, I discovered a new way to crop my images to improve the composition, which is ‘free transform’ and it has helped me greatly with this assignment.

I also had to amend the noise in every single image, as all of them were very grainy due to the settings I had to use. I also did a lot of dodging and burning, which I have not had to use much in my editing process before now, so the post production was just as much of a challenge as the actual creating of the images.

Primary research

Exhibition

 

I went to The Photographers’ Gallery as I knew the ‘Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2014’ was being exhibited, among many others.

“Miraculously, fear does not paralyse me, nor stop me dead; instead, it drives me on, forces me to keep looking at myself, even though I know that fear will always be the soul of the mask behind which I show myself” 

                (Alberto Garcia-Alix – Taken from the information on the wall of The Photographers Gallery)

Even though this quote does not directly relate to photography, Alberto is using it in reference to his photographic work. On reading this quote, it really struck a chord with me and I had to use it in this assignment.

I am always fearful of failure, but I always do things that I am afraid of, to push myself to be the best “me” I can be. I think that is why the quote is so profound and resonates with me.

I feel that I always try to challenge myself with my photography and I always want to improve, which is certainly scary, but that is why I like doing it.

Alberto Garcia-Alix was in the shortlist for the ‘Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2014’. This image in his collection really made me think about people and activity. This is my favourite out of the whole set of his images, the clarity and skill that he used to make this image still astounds me. Also the thought process behind it and what made him think to do a self portrait on his motorbike. I wanted to capture the same clarity and creative thinking with my images, not just for this assignment but for all future projects as well.

 

(Self portrait on motorbike (1978) - 'Autorretrato en moto' (1978) – by Alberto Garcia-Alix – picture taken at The Photographers Gallery)

 

Richard Mosse was the winner of the ‘Deutsche Borse Photography Prize 2014’. This image for me really stands out, firstly due to the expression on the boys face, it is like you can actually see the concentrated pain behind his eyes. Secondly, the amazing colour that Richard has captured, all of which I wanted to incorporate in this assignment.

Richard used discontinued military surveillance film which registers infrared spectrums of light, resulting in the pink/red hue in all of his images of this set.

(Vintage Violence, North Kivu, Eastern Congo, 2011 – by Richard Mosse – picture taken at The Photographers Gallery)

 

 

Secondary research

Magazine

“Location shoots are the best. I find that studios can be a bit sterile…”

(Julian Hayr – Taken from page 62 of the “Digital Photo” magazine)

As I have said previously, I subscribe to the “Digital Photo” magazine, which is extremely useful for all kinds of information and tips on how to compose and edit images.

In the April 2014 issue of “Digital Photo” magazine, page 60 talked about the photographer Julian Hayr, the man who inspired my assignment. He really captures the essence of the moments that he is photographing, whether it is in black and white, or colour. I was drawn more to his colour images as they were so powerful and thought provoking.

Internet

With Tom Horton’s images, I think they are on a par with Julian’s. They are both vibrant and powerful, however I think that Tom’s work focuses more on the rest of the audience rather than solely the stage. Here is my favourite image of Tom’s.

 

 (Annie Mac @ The Arena, Digbeth © Tom Horton – URL http://www.tom-horton.co.uk/- Date website accessed 29/04/2014)

 

Skip Bolen’s work is amazing, every time I look at his images, I feel calm and like I am really there watching the performers. His works for Jazz musicians are primarily in black and white, for which I was toying with the idea of using for this assignment. However, I went down the Julian and Tom route and went for vibrancy over strong contrast. Although I have tried to incorporate the softness that Skip manages to portray in some of my images. I could not gain access to my favourite picture to put on here, so here is the link;-

http://skipbolen.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/Jazz-More/G0000RUexPx6B6go/I0000uWbfUking_0

The image that resonated with me the most is the one of Alvin Batiste, he is clearly performing but Skip still manages to show the emotion behind the clarinet.

 

 

Strengths and weaknesses on my assignment

Scott Hamilton

First image

Strengths; - This image is a strong one with a sense like you are really there. I am really happy with the image as a whole, but in particular the reflection and where I have placed Scott in the frame.

Weaknesses; - I would say that it may have been nice to have the whole image in focus, alas with my camera that was an impossibility. Also I was a bit unsure about showing the actual lights and the negative space in the top right hand corner.

Second image

Strengths; - The sharpness and detail in this image make Scott really stand out, I think the way I have composed the image is very strong.

Weaknesses; - Maybe there is too much dark behind Scott in this image, which unfortunately could not be helped as that is the way that it looked. I also feel the pink streak of light looks a bit on the fake side.

Third image

Strengths; - The colours are great in this image. I really like the mixture of lighting effects you get from it and the way the audience lead in to the stage.

Weaknesses; - There is not enough contrast on the audience as I had to brighten them by doing some dodging of the shadows. Also there may be a bit too much negative space on the bottom left hand side of the image.

 

Brian Culbertson

First image

Strengths; - The colour here is vibrant, as well as the action of the performers, I fell the mood of the event is captures well in this photograph.

Weaknesses; - As I said previously this is one of my weaker images. I can’t really out my finger on it, but if I had to I would say it was the composition, it seems a bit off.

Second image

Strengths; - The overall composition is good on this image, as you get a sense that you are sitting at the table watching the show. The lighting on Brian when he is playing is good.

Weaknesses; - The lighting of the audience is not really how I wanted it and it does not give strength to the image because of this.

Third image

Strengths; - The focus and composition are defiantly the best parts of this image. By doing this, it makes for a very strong individual image.

Weaknesses; - As I said previously the end of the trumpet is too bright and detracts away from Brian’s actions/face. If his trumpet had been a different colour, I defiantly would have gotten a different, if not better result.

Martyna Wren

First image

Strengths; - The silhouettes are exactly how I envisaged and wanted them, they defiantly add to the image overall. I think the lighting is good and draws your attention on to the trumpeter.

Weaknesses; - is perhaps the glaring light in the top left hand corner, even thought the lights draw your attention to the trumpeter, I feel the glaring light draws your eye away from it.

Second image

Strengths; - The creative trick shot is a definite attraction to this image, I like the way he stands out in the glass of the picture frame.

Weaknesses; - The noise is way too much and overpowers the image, it depends on how you look at it though as it could be an enhancement. If this was to be published, I would have kept the trumpeters image in colour and turned everything else in to black and white to be able to affectively reduce the noise and give it some “pop”.

Third image

Strengths; - The soft lighting in this image works well as it gives a very relaxed feeling, I also like the clarity of the pianist and Martyna as it makes the photograph quite strong.

Weaknesses;- I could have composed this slightly better, due to the negative space at the top, however I shot it like this to be able to get the trumpeter in to the top right hand corner.

David Benoit

First image

Strengths; - The composition of this image is really strong and the movement of his hands works well with showing that David is actually playing the piano.

Weaknesses; - The chromatic edging in this image is quite apparent around his hair and I have no idea how to eradicate it, which is quite frustrating. I am also not sure about the coffee cup and brochure in the bottom left hand corner, in a way is advertises that they serve coffee and have regular events, but if you look at it in another way it is a distraction.

Second image

Strengths; - The feel of the image works well, like you are actually there with them. I like that all three band members are in the frame.

Weaknesses; - The composition is slightly off, with a bit too much negative space in the top right hand corner.

Third image

Strengths; - Is how I captured his facial expression and the lighting on his face, as well as the clarity of the image.

Weaknesses; - The dark areas are a bit too dark and I could have compromised the shutter speed slightly to allow for more exposure to the sensor.

 

Some of my research sources-Books, websites and documents

Concert and Live Music Photography: Pro Tips from the Pit: by J. Dennis Thomas; (This was quite helpful to see what other people do when photographing live music events and how they go about it. Each image in the book has information about the kit that was used, as well as the settings used, which was fantastic. It really opened my eyes as to what I should be doing and the fact that I probably need some more money for camera equipment!)

The Jazz Image: Masters of Jazz Photography; by Lee Tanner; (This book is all in black and white and represents images of Jazz musicians over a period of four decades. It was really useful to see how he composed his images and used the lighting to his advantage. With strong contrasting images and some purposefully made “noisy”, this book was a really great find and made me think about how to compose my images)

Digital Photo magazine: Editor John Adams; (This magazine has been a massive help to me with my photography, as mentioned in my learning log, how to free transform images, dodge and burn, as well as the post production work)

http://julianhayr.com/- (To research Julian Hayr and examine his photography)

http://www.tom-horton.co.uk/- (To research Tom Horton and examine his photography)

http://skipbolen.photoshelter.com/gallery/Jazz-More/G0000RUexPx6B6go/- (To research Skip Bolen and examine his photography)

http://www.pizzaexpresslive.co.uk/jazzList.aspx - (To research the club and see what images they had on their website)

http://thephotographersgallery.org.uk/home - (To see what exhibitions they had and images on their website)

http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbg/dispatch/en/kir/dbg_nav/corporate_responsibility/33_Art_Collection/25_photography_prize - (To see research the winner and runners up)