StatEment of Intent
My theme
I aim to produce a website on Weebly to show my work, my ideas, developments, creative outcomes and reflections, based around the theme of the ‘Objects.’ At the end of my coursework time, I will choose my best Photographs and present them in a final gallery. I may also think about trying to create a book or an installation.
My research
For my initial research I will start by looking into photographers who focus on objects . At the moment, I have three in mind that I want to look at. These are Camilla Catrambone, Colin Wilson and Edward Weston. I chose Catrambone because I really liked the style and also the viewpoint of looking down at the group of objects. Also I like the way the objects relate to each other in specific groups, which is something I might like to try.
I chose to look at Colin Wilson because He focuses on single objects that seem clean and simple aesthetics which is a contrast to Catrambones images. I like the muted tones, not too bright which make the objects stand out.
I also hope to look at the work of Edward Weston, I have looked at his work before for my Texture project and I really like the way he is similar to Colin's but he uses more abstract objects and the use of black and white creates a clean contrast.
All three of theses photographers really inspire me as they all use objects but in different ways and view them in different settings, wanting to bring out individual details. By researching their work I hope to learn about using different camera angles, how objects relate to each other and how they relate to the person.
First thoughts
When I chose the exam question, my initial thoughts were of taking photos of natural objects because I would be able to get access to these object and just capture the beauty of each one. However, I realised there are so many more routes for my work to go down such as how objects relate to each, grouping objects together, tell a story with object and compare and contrast new and old objects. If I get a range of objects I could start to experiment with and contrast each object and then refine my work in Photoshop, linking the outcomes together.
My next steps
I will need to take a large range of photos, exploring all the different ways I can photography them from various viewpoints and angles. I think for this project I will focus on studio shots rather than going out on location, as this relates to my research. Studio shots will allow me to control the lighting and group the objects for the best effect.
To show progression through my work I will start by photographing the fruit, leaves and plants that I can bring into school. I will then develop these images further by researching more ideas from them and editing them in Photoshop. I then hope to work with a professional photographer, Justin, who will help me to set-up the equipment and it will give me a good opportunity to improve my work.
Equipment I will
I will continue to use the school camera, which is a DSLR Canon camera on manual settings. The settings I will need to use and change are the ISO, WB, Exposure, shutter speed and aperture. I will use the standard lens but I also hope to use the macro lens to add interest to my project. As I am doing studio shoots, I will need to use the lighting kit and reflectors and have the camera on a tripod.
My timeline
I have 3 months to produce my Website of work towards the production of my final piece. I aim to complete my initial research within the first 3 week and start photographing by the 4th week, in order to give me the time I need to show progression. I will then continue to develop my work in photoshop, looking at tutorials and trying different filters and techniques to enhance my work. I am prepared to work with the professional photographer to build up my gallery of images. When I have completed the project, I will select my best photography outcomes and display them in my final gallery and possible create a book.
My journey
As my exam project progresses I will use annotations of best/worst throughout my webpage, labeling my ideas and development clearly and my next steps. This will also help me to reflect on the work I produce and what I need to do next. I will mainly seek advice from my Tutors, look at tutorials online and be inspired by past student work, as I am keen to do my best. I will also watch tutorials and demonstrations for photoshop techniques and find my own as well to help me develop my skills and knowledge of Photoshop. After the creation of my final portfolio I will write a final evaluation on the project as a whole, reflecting on what went well and what I would do differently or change given the time.
I aim to produce a website on Weebly to show my work, my ideas, developments, creative outcomes and reflections, based around the theme of the ‘Objects.’ At the end of my coursework time, I will choose my best Photographs and present them in a final gallery. I may also think about trying to create a book or an installation.
My research
For my initial research I will start by looking into photographers who focus on objects . At the moment, I have three in mind that I want to look at. These are Camilla Catrambone, Colin Wilson and Edward Weston. I chose Catrambone because I really liked the style and also the viewpoint of looking down at the group of objects. Also I like the way the objects relate to each other in specific groups, which is something I might like to try.
I chose to look at Colin Wilson because He focuses on single objects that seem clean and simple aesthetics which is a contrast to Catrambones images. I like the muted tones, not too bright which make the objects stand out.
I also hope to look at the work of Edward Weston, I have looked at his work before for my Texture project and I really like the way he is similar to Colin's but he uses more abstract objects and the use of black and white creates a clean contrast.
All three of theses photographers really inspire me as they all use objects but in different ways and view them in different settings, wanting to bring out individual details. By researching their work I hope to learn about using different camera angles, how objects relate to each other and how they relate to the person.
First thoughts
When I chose the exam question, my initial thoughts were of taking photos of natural objects because I would be able to get access to these object and just capture the beauty of each one. However, I realised there are so many more routes for my work to go down such as how objects relate to each, grouping objects together, tell a story with object and compare and contrast new and old objects. If I get a range of objects I could start to experiment with and contrast each object and then refine my work in Photoshop, linking the outcomes together.
My next steps
I will need to take a large range of photos, exploring all the different ways I can photography them from various viewpoints and angles. I think for this project I will focus on studio shots rather than going out on location, as this relates to my research. Studio shots will allow me to control the lighting and group the objects for the best effect.
To show progression through my work I will start by photographing the fruit, leaves and plants that I can bring into school. I will then develop these images further by researching more ideas from them and editing them in Photoshop. I then hope to work with a professional photographer, Justin, who will help me to set-up the equipment and it will give me a good opportunity to improve my work.
Equipment I will
I will continue to use the school camera, which is a DSLR Canon camera on manual settings. The settings I will need to use and change are the ISO, WB, Exposure, shutter speed and aperture. I will use the standard lens but I also hope to use the macro lens to add interest to my project. As I am doing studio shoots, I will need to use the lighting kit and reflectors and have the camera on a tripod.
My timeline
I have 3 months to produce my Website of work towards the production of my final piece. I aim to complete my initial research within the first 3 week and start photographing by the 4th week, in order to give me the time I need to show progression. I will then continue to develop my work in photoshop, looking at tutorials and trying different filters and techniques to enhance my work. I am prepared to work with the professional photographer to build up my gallery of images. When I have completed the project, I will select my best photography outcomes and display them in my final gallery and possible create a book.
My journey
As my exam project progresses I will use annotations of best/worst throughout my webpage, labeling my ideas and development clearly and my next steps. This will also help me to reflect on the work I produce and what I need to do next. I will mainly seek advice from my Tutors, look at tutorials online and be inspired by past student work, as I am keen to do my best. I will also watch tutorials and demonstrations for photoshop techniques and find my own as well to help me develop my skills and knowledge of Photoshop. After the creation of my final portfolio I will write a final evaluation on the project as a whole, reflecting on what went well and what I would do differently or change given the time.
research
camilla catrambone
context
"Camilla Catrambone photographer has decided to paint a portrait of her family, but instead of using actual photographs of her relatives, we are left to imagine how they might appear based on what they own.
You can tell a lot by looking at someone possessions - personality, interests, likes and passions.
From leather satchels and handkerchiefs to blocks of cheese and cookware, Florence-based artist Camilla Catrambone's family album is curiously captivating.
The objects represented in every picture don’t talk about the entire life of my grandpa, but the portray deeply describes a moment she shared with her grandad."
info taken from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342392/A-life-objects-Family-portraits-capture-essence-loved-photographing-treasured-possessions.html.
compostition
Camilla has framed the tools and has placed them so they have similar amount of space between them. The background is wooden pallets and the colours of the wood are light browns and displays the aging of the wood which makes the texture.The colours used are of a similar paint pallet with tones of browns, oranges and metallic colours. however my eye is drawn to the brown handle of the hammer because it takes up a larger portion of the image and it is deep brown in colour the light is reflecting off highlighting the handle the dark handle contrasts against the light brown handle. This is also placed on the left hand side which is a sweet spot of the image. There is also a contrasting colour of light blue which is positioned in the bottom left hand corner.
conection
The question I have chosen for my exam is objects. This is how this photographer connects to my work I have chosen Camilla Catrambone because of the way she has taken photographs of personal belongings that relate to her family members. This style of photography is something I will try my work where try in my work.
comment
I picked this image because it looked interesting and it was appealing to me and it also relates to me because i took some images with the same style of the Birdseye view with objects spread out.
colin wilson
Context
I have been looking at the work of Colin Wilson and how he makes a simple oject stand out and seem important. This is the information I found out about his Still Life object work: "Colin Wilson is a British photographer based in Derby. His practice is rooted in the still life and his long term projects focus on ‘rhopography’, the depiction of that which is considered insignificant. The simplicity of his compositions allows for a meticulous and expressive examination of carefully selected objects whose forms have immense force. Working on large format film and hand printing each print, his process mirrors the contemplative quality of the images".
This is the website I used: https://ruthmillington.co.uk/artist-colin-wilson-argentea-gallery/
This is the website I used: https://ruthmillington.co.uk/artist-colin-wilson-argentea-gallery/
Composition
While I am looking at this picture what i really like about it is the way the photographer has placed the object in the centre of the picture which makes it symmetrical. In my opinion i think the composition seems quite strong and the bottle is the main focus of our attention. I can see that Wilson has use the rule of thirds because the neck of the bottle fits exactly in the top third which draws your eye to that spot. Its also darker in colour with a contrasting white stopper which pulls the eye into that spot. The object seems interesting because of the strong vertical leading lines on the glass which contrast with the neutral background. The background has some texture to it but it is a shallow depth of field or he may have used an infinite curve. The shot has been taken at eye level so we are looking directly at the object and i can see that is has been lit by the front left of the image casting a highlight on the neck and round edge of the bottle. The image is quite tightly cropped which i might use in my own work. In my option i think this has been taken on an old film camera and the black and white , grey tones. blend in and makes the image quite stylish.
Connection
This work connects to mine as i will also be working on single objects and particularly older object which look more appealing to me
Comment
In my opinion I really like his work because of how simple and black and white it is and how clean and pure the photo seems. I think I am going to take inspiration from his work and use the same techniques with the background, cropping and using a single object.
Edward weston
Context
I have been researching information for Edward Weston to find out a bit more about him, this is the information I found: "Weston became successful working in soft-focus, pictorial style; winning many salons and professional awards. Weston gained an international reputation for his high key portraits and modern dance studies. Articles about his work were published in magazines such as American Photography, Photo Era and Photo Miniature. Weston also authored many articles himself for many of these publications. In 1912, Weston met photographer Margrethe Mather in his Tropico studio. Mather becomes his studio assistant and most frequent model for the next decade. Mather had a very strong influence on Weston. He would later call her, “the first important woman in my life.” Weston began keeping journals in 1915 that came to be known as his “Daybooks.” They would chronicle his life and photographic development into the 1930’s."
This is the website where I got the information from: https://www.edward-weston.com/edwardweston
This is the website where I got the information from: https://www.edward-weston.com/edwardweston
Composition
The thing that really stands out to me in this photograph is the way Weston has lit his object, making it seems moody and strange. I can see that it is a studio shot and the light source is coming from the top right, creating highlights across the pepper. He has carefully positioned the lights so that there is a very dark background, this contrasts with the pepper and helps to make it stand out. He has also created a vignette at the bottom of the image, I can see the lighting is curved, which acts like a frame. I really like this technique and so I am going to research how to do this and try it on my own photographs. He has positioned the pepper in the middle of the image with a strong leading line running down the pepper in the very centre, giving us almost a line of symmetry. He has also used the rule of thirds because the shoulders of the pepper sit on the sweet spot in the top third which makes us really focus on this spot. The flowing lines of the pepper make this object seem very abstract and sculptural and help to make your eyes move across the image. Weston has also tightly cropped the image so that it feels like we could reach out and touch it, it also has a shallow depth of field and in my opinion I think he may have used an infinity curve, all this helps us to only look at the object. In my opinion I think he may of had his camera on a tripod with a slow shutter speed as the image is very dark and Fstop 11.
Connection
I think Weston relates to my own ideas around objects as I really like single, simple objects and I think I am going to use this in my own exam. I like the way he makes one object stand out and look special, even something like a vegetable. I like the old effect he has and this is also something I am going to try to capture in my photos.
Comment
I like the way Weston has lit the object, making it look quite moody and sculptural, which makes you really look at it in a different way. He has used black & white, which brings out the form and shape of the object and I really like this. I think he used a film camera and would not of had access to Photoshop, this shows real skill as everything had to be created through the lens and in the darkroom.
Moodboard
coggle
Mind map showing my first ideas for my Object exam project, I am thinking of focusing on single objects and objects that work together well in a group
Shoot plan
I am going to be using the school Canon DSLR cameras on a manual setting. I will need to set the WB, ISO and exposure for each set of photos. I am going to try and use natural lighting as I think this will give me the effect I am after. I will use old wooden table tops that relate to the old objects I am taking photos of and explore different camera angles, close-up and the rule of thirds, similar to the research I have been doing.
tools
I have chosen this image as my best out of the two because it is clear and at a good angle.
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I have chosen this image as the worst out of the two because I was not able to get it to look clear and the image is blurry itself .
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Developing my images in photosho, using black & white and adding texture to make it look old
Developing my photos in photoshop using a vignette
I have developed this image similar to my research of Edward Weston by making it Black & White and adding a Vignette
I added a bit more of a tint to this image but I am not sure if it has made much of a difference. I amy try it again of a different object that has a contrasting colour
Best and worst
best and worst
set-up of my object and working with a professional photographer
I worked with a professional photographer and we set-up a small studio using LED lights that were attached to the camera. I could change the lighting so that I could get the shots I wanted and related to my rea=search on Weston and Wilson.
The camera had a standard lens but I learnt how to put it in live view and to adjust the focus by really zooming into the object. The background was a photograph printed out sheet from an old chalk board, which was perfect for the effect I was after. The camera was rigged up to a computer, this was really helpful as I could see the shot I was getting and make adjustments. The lighting was set-up around the object, but I used reflectors to soften the lighting. I really learnt a lot for this experience and it will help me with my next shots that I take.
The camera had a standard lens but I learnt how to put it in live view and to adjust the focus by really zooming into the object. The background was a photograph printed out sheet from an old chalk board, which was perfect for the effect I was after. The camera was rigged up to a computer, this was really helpful as I could see the shot I was getting and make adjustments. The lighting was set-up around the object, but I used reflectors to soften the lighting. I really learnt a lot for this experience and it will help me with my next shots that I take.
These are the images I took in the workshop
Photoshop debvelopment using the vignette
I have used photoshop to change the brightness and the tone of the image to get different outcomes .
working ideas
Having done my first photos I am m now deciding on the images I want to take to move my project forward. I have decided to take photos of single objects based on my research of Colin Wilson as I find them more appealing. I like the idea of taking photos of objects that we no longer use and apart of a time that's passed.
extended my ideas
I like the idea of making my objects look old, similar to Weston and Wilson but I think this might be a bit limiting. I have been research other ideas that are 'retro' but more contemporary and I think this will be a really good way of taking my project on more of a journey. Below are the tutorial I am looking at to help me achieve a o more interesting project. I am thinking of having one object but developing it in 3 different ways to show changing styles over time. The first one will be a vignette as if it is from the 1920s, the second will be a Pop Art effect from the 1960s and the third will be a retro effect from the 1990s. I hope this will tell a bit of a story about objects in time.
I need to take a few more photos of objects so that I have a bigger range to develop in Photoshop.
I need to take a few more photos of objects so that I have a bigger range to develop in Photoshop.
Gallery of new images
I have taken photos of the whole object which I will crop and use for the Pop Art effect
Developing my ideas in photoshop to make the object look old in 3 different eres
I really like this outcome as it is very appealing and a good contrast to my first experiments
developing an object effect over time
21st april first exam i will not add any more information or make any changes to the work above
Final gallary
In my exam I used photoshop, I did black and white edits and also glitch edits that I think look good .