Spooks Apprentice - Heysham Village

Background...

The Spooks Apprentice is a series of books written from the view of a 13 year old boy, who along with his master rid 'The County' of a host of dark evil creatures: Boggarts, Ghasts and Witches. Many of the places described in these books are based on real Lancastrian cities, towns and villages. One such place described was Heysham Village, and specifically the stone graves and ruined church. The following photographs have been inspired by these books. I have purposely chosen DLSR so that I had more flexibility when trying to create a creative atmosphere to match the books.

The date for this shoot was Saturday 2nd February. I chose this day due to the weather conditions. It had been forecast to be misty for a large proportion of the day. This was exactly the atmospheric weather conditions I was after to create the correct mood within these images.

This first picture is of the stone graves, they are on top of a small cliff. I have cropped the image so the focus is on the graves and not the background. I have also converted the image to greyscale as the graves were filled with water that had iced over in the night. This gave increased shape and contrast to the composition.

Camera date: Nikon D300, 18mm to 70mm zoom, focal length 18mm. F10 at 125th Sec. ISO 280

The next 2 images are of the church which replaced the original which is now in ruins. The first view is shot from the left hand side through the small graveyard. I have tried to give this image atmosphere by capturing the trees in the foreground. I have then used the 'cold tone' preset as a base, then messed about with the black and fill light sliders to obtain the eeriness of the image.

Image 2 of the church is how you would see it from the road. As you can see most of the gravestones are slightly angled off centre. I think this also adds to the final image. As with the 1st image of the church I have used the 'cold tone' presets and altered the black and fill light sliders. Camera data: Nikon D300 18mm to 70mm zoom, focal length 24mm, F6.3, 125th Sec. ISO 280.

Just opposite the church there is a small walled garden. Well I say garden, it's pretty much overgrown. However, whilst walking around I took these two images for the perspective aspect. Both shots draw the eye from one part of the frame to another. With both these images I wanted to explore were the path leads too.

I wanted as much detail in these shots as the light would allow - the first shot is at f11 and the second at f18. Both shot with a 28mm prime lens (this is roughly the same view as the eyes see - remembering the D300 is not a full frame sensor)

These 3 image are of the old church which is in ruins now. There is so little left that I found it difficult to obtain an interesting image. I think this church has been captured by so many photographers at nearly every single angle, that there is little room for originality. However, we must not let that stop us trying!

I have used the 'Selenium Tone' preset with this set of images, then slightly adjusting using the tone sliders in Lightroom. I used this effect to create the atmosphere as described in the Spooks books.

The above two images are variations of the church scene. They have been taken from a higher view point and Selenium Tone preset has been used. Both have been shot through the trees to add to the eerie atmosphere I was trying to capture. Both have been shot using the 18mm to 70mm zoom lens at different focal lenghts 24mm and 38mm respectively.

This next shot is of the cobbled road between the old church and new. Yet again I chose to capture this image for its perspective properties. The eye is drawn into the centre of the picture. I liked the aged feel to this road due to the cobbles. This is the kind of road I thought young Tom (Spooks Apprentice) would find himself traveling. This image also has 'Selenium Tone' preset to add the the aged feel of the image.

The final image of the set is of a gravestone I came across in the church. It had no writing on it but as the most beautiful Celtic carving. What it means - I don't know. I have employed the same Lighroom effect as above as it lends itself well to this imagery.

Contact Sheet:

Quick shots - Peeping Tom & The Clown

These are just two quick shots taken in response to the fine art assignment. The first image was taken whilst walking in the woods on a family outing. There was an old hollowed out tree trunk with interesting bark and a small peephole. I got my daughter to look through the hole just so I could capture her eyes. I chose a shallow depth of field to blur the foreground. I like the idea of isolating the eyes so the the viewer is not distracted by the other facial features (this could make an interesting series). In Photoshop I have brightened the eyes with the dodge tool. Camera data: 28mm prime lens, f5 at 80th Sec.

Image 2 was taken at a school assembly that my daughter was taking part in. The room was lit so the overhead projector cold be seen on the back wall - in other words dark. At the end of the assembly we could greet our children. I took the opportunity to take the image above. I found the only bit of white wall that didn't have a display board on it, it also happened to be opposite the french window that let natural daylight through. I quickly positioned Jess at this wall and took this shot. I have taken the image into Photoshop and added a dream effect by combining the blur filter along with the blending mode. This has helped take away some of the detail (brick work) from the background and add a dream effect to the final image. I have also lightened the eyes with the dodge tool, but darkened the Iris with the burn tool. The saturation has also been tweaked to exaggerate the colour of the red wig. Camera data: 50mm prime lens f1.4 (to blur background and due to poor light), speed 1ooth sec.

Learning outcome: There are situations were a photo opportunity presents itself, the knack is recognising them. When they do arise you have to work quickly and don't be to fussy, not everything is going to be perfect eg lighting, weather etc.

Places - Urban Experiment....

As stated in an earlier post - I wanted to experiment with all the Places categories. A trip had been planned to Manchester to visit the Imperial War Museum North to see an exhibition by Don McCullin. I took the opportunity as with many of my fellow students to experiment with the urban landscape. I was particularly looking to capture shape, form, and also colour.

We arrived in Manchester round 10:30 and went to see the current exhibition of Hip-Hop at the Urbis. This was not really my cup of tea - as I never really got into this genre of music, must be my age. Don't get me wrong, the exhibits were interesting and informative. We stayed for about an hour and half and then hit the streets of Manchester!!!

The day was overcast but dry - this gave any building taken a neutral background, which I happen to like. The first set of image were taken around the Urbis building and surrounding area. I had decided to use digital format due to its flexibility and I wanted to capture colour and manipulate thereafter in CS4.

I took this first image for the shape and the aqua colour of the glass. The side of the building has a ghosting effect that looked interesting. As the building is quite tall I chose the widest lens in my kit - 20mm prime. As there was movement in front of the building I chose a fairly fast speed at 125th Sec. I also wanted a large portion of the building in focus so a long D.O.F was used - F11. If I was to shoot this again I would put the camera on a tri-pod and slow the shutter speed down. That way the movement of people would become blurred and add to the ghost effect of the building.

Image 2 was shot for its shape and interesting structure. I have also chosen to change this to grayscale as I thought it would just simplify the image with its complicated structure. A fast shutter speed was chosen (although the wheel was stationery at the time of capture) 125th sec. Same lens as before as I wanted to get as much of the wheel in view as possible, then by moving closer crop the frame as appropriate. F22 for aperture to get as much detail of the background buildings. If taking this image again as with picture 1, I would mount on a tri-pod and use a slow shutter speed to get movement in the picture, taking a number of images at a slightly different angel. These images then could be overlayed each other in Photoshop to create one picture. A bit like Idris Khan image of all the Bechers Gas holders.

The first image was taken for the glass squares and how the perspective changes against the stone pavement. Also, the reflective property of the glass captures interesting shapes. I used 28mm prime lens as I wanted to focus in this perspective effect. F18 for a long D.O.F.

Image 2 was taken purely for its many, different shapes. I also wanted to show the old with the Tudor style building, the 60s with the Arndale square block, and the modern with the big wheel. I chose grayscale as I think the image suits the better contrast this effect gives - see image below for a colour version.

I took this image for its graphic frontage. I was trying to get that Eggleston look. This didn't quite work. I needed to be a lot closer to the graphics, with far more colour in the composition. I also need a different angle to shoot from. Camera data 28mm lens, f18, 125th Sec.

Image 2 is just a different view point of the big wheel. The perspective of this shot was intriguing. All the lines draw your eyes into the composition.

Image 1 is a slightly different shot of the above but in colour. Image 2 was taken for the perspective - the eye being drawn into the composition. At this angle the reflective nature of the building is also increased.

Both these images were taken in response to a lecture given by Chris Aughton on Urban Art. Chris highlights the space invader artist who invaded cities with his mosaic designs. He also gave guidance on street art, tagging and stenciling. I took the first image as it's one I have walked passed many times when I worked in Manchester, but gave it little thought. I liked the position of the extractor fans above the design. Camera data 20mm prime lens f8 at 125th second.

Image one, yes you guessed, was taken to get that Eggleston look. The vibrant colours and graphics particularly attracted me - its what you expect from this type of shop. Camera data: 20mm prime lens, f2.8 and 125th second. Image 2 is of a Tag as highlight in Chris Urban lecture. I took this image for the background colour as much as the graffiti. Camera data: 20mm prime lens, f4 at 125th second.

Then it was a short trip across town to Salford. We had the options of the Lowery and Imperial War Museum North. At the Lowery there was an exhibition by the photographers Anderson and Low of a circus troupe based on the exotic cost of Blackpool. These were amazing photographs. The photographers really captured the artistry of the performers within in the compositions. I can highly recommend this exhibition. When I came out of the Lowery I took the chance to take some images whilst walking to the War museum.

Both these images were taken for there shapes and structure.

This first image reminded me of some of the cubist paintings seen whilst research the subject for History of Image. The next set of images where taken with the Bechers in mind. As I found out its very hard to get into a position to take that very flat monotone style the Bechers are renowned for. By studying the Bechers I have learnt the art of looking for the beauty in the mundane!!

These were the last shots of the day as is was time to see the Don McCullin exhibition. I had been to the National Media Museum in Bradford last year to see McCullins exhibition on Northern Life. Both these exhibitions show McCullin's mastery of photograph. He has a unique way of capture emotion within his compositions. With this new exhibition McCullin has demonstrated the horror of war but has also cleansed himself from some of the horrors he has seen and captured. His images never glorified war but tried to show empathy with his subject. I got the impression he has been able to move on from this period in his life, and is using his skill to capture remarkable landscapes.


Contact Sheet:

People - Outline of ideas....

Along with the Places assignment the other main photographic project is People. There are four main study areas - each one is intended to be a mini assignment itself:

1. The Environmental Portrait

2. Candid Photography

3. Fine Art Portrait

4. Corporate Portrait

The learning out come is to experiment with a variety of equipment, locations and lighting set-ups.

However, the starting point for any photographic brief is research, research and then more research. How do we define the four main areas, what style of photograph do they produce.

Research photographers already working in these fields. Make notes of what you like and don't like. At the experimental stage of this assignment try to recreate their techniques.

The first task is to define what make a good image from the four headings. Using Sunday supplement magazines to produce tear sheets and then group the samples into the relative headings. This provides a good foundation into the different characteristics of each genre.

Tear Sheets:

Environmental

Candid

Fine Art

Corporate.

The second part to this is to look on the Internet for those photographers that are producing exceptional pieces of work that inspire you.

Platon: Fine Art Portraits

Chuck Close - Fine Art Portraits:

Neal Slavin - Corporate/Environmental

Weegee - Candid...