People - Enviromental

Unfortunately I am not going to put a blog up for this section of the People module. I will hand in a paper format for assessment.

Candid Portraits - Derek the Master Farrier

Background....

So what is a Candid Portrait? After searching the Internet and finding a whole host of explanations as to what is and what's not  candid photography I was none the wiser. At the planning stage of this module I had looked at the work of Weegee for the candid category.

In the above photographs taken by Weegee you can see they have been taken without any direction from the photographer,  but the subjects in the photograph know of his presence and what he is doing. They are totally spontaneous in their actions and its down to the photographer when to press the shutter.

For the Candid Portraits I was lucky enough to capture and record a master craftsman at work. The gentleman's name in question was Derek. Now into his seventies he still has the skill and stamina to make many a young Farrier green with envy. His foundry is on the border of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, in an out building on a farm. Lit by a mixture of fluorescent and daylight, and the glow of the intense foundry fire. The only direction I gave him was to work as normal as if I wasn't there.

This first image is actually the last image I took at this session.  Derek was just chatting away and  just looked up at an opportune moment, I was fairly close at the time and the backgrounds were somewhat confusing. You will see in some of the other images the wires and metal covers which distract the eye. I also used a shallow depth of field f2.2 to further omit detail in the background. This image is slightly soft which I thinks adds to the overall feel.

I wanted to give the impression that I was not always focused on Derek and so took certain still life objects within the forge. I also wanted to use the new found skills form the first module and carry them over into this. The second image is the starting of the fire in the forge. There is an image below that shows it at full force. I used a slower shutter speed to create the sense of movement within the flames.

I took these next two images of Derek to show the heat of the metal being worked. I also liked the glow that can be seen in his face. I struggled with light throughout this session, I had to use a shallow d.o.f to allow more light to hit the sensor as I needed a fairly fast shutter so that the images didn't blur.

The first object is an examples of basic metalwork. Derek worked this metal with such ease and craft.  It took him all of about 10mins. I placed them on the stone floor where they caught the window light. I converted to greyscale as I think the overall composition suits the effect better.

With the second object image I saw a number of horseshoe blanks laid on the floor next to the forge, I was taken a back by their blue colour. The final image has been cropped to tidy up the edges and help draw the viewers eye into the centre of the composition.

This next image is of the large metal tongues positioned next to the forge. They are used to position the metal in the fire to get to temperature before working. I took this image dropping the focus to the foreground and background, creating a clear sharp area of focus in the centre of the composition.  I captured the image along the length to draw the viewers eye to the centre and help to produce an abstract image. The image on the right show the concentration of Derek working the metal. I used a fast shutter speed to capture the motion of the hammer. If I was taking this image again I would slow the shutter down to create increased motion within frame.

With this shot I was able to capture shards of metal sparking off the forge. This is the kind of image you expect to see from a farrier.

Another shot showing the total concentration of Derek.

I saw the above wording hanging in the store room next to the forge. I liked the way the light caught the edge of the word and then the dark metal work against the very light background. I used a shallow d.o.f as the store room had tools hanging against the wall which would have caused a distraction.

The final image was take to show the intensity of the forge fire. I have turned up the saturation to bring out the wonderful colours that can be seen in this image.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Some of these images are slightly soft. This is due to me not being very observant. I had just bought a Sigma 28mm prime lens and was itching to use it. This lens has a known problem of sometimes not  auto focusing properly. Lesson learnt - always check your equipment before and while the session is taking place.

2. Another rookie error. We think of Farriers/Blacksmiths wearing used leather aprons, with the shirt sleeves rolled up, not cardigans. I could/should have got Derek to wear his protective clothing as it would have given more credibility to the images, but this could have been classed as direction!

3. Have a plan of action. I should have researched a bit more for images of Farriers/Blacksmiths and had more of an idea of what I wanted to achieve. This would help in being more creative.

4. I learnt something about myself with this shoot. Altogether I enjoyed the experience but I realised I preferred the controlled environment of the studio. As I turned up with my camera and little else I didn't enjoy not being in control of where the light would fall. Just a personal preference!!

5. Sometimes its not possible to see the location before the shoot. However if you can do some prep then do. If I had know how dark the Forge would be then I would have looked a bringing lights. However, is this then moving out of candid into environmental?

6. I could have converted all the images to grayscale to reduce the distraction in clothing and backgrounds. However, I think this would loose some of the intensity of light and heat that have been caught within frame. Also trying to keep within the spirit of Candid photography I have tried to make little or no alteration to the captured image.

Contact Sheet:

Commercial Portrait - The Principle

Background


For this section of the 'People' assignment I wanted to push the boundaries and work out of my comfort zone. I didn't realise at the time how much out of my comfort zone I would be working! The whole point of a Corporate Portrait is to identify someone of importance at a recognisable establishment.
I sent a letter to the Principle of Blackburn College  Mr Ian Clinton who very kindly agreed to come and have his portrait taken.

Creative Idea


I wanted to create an image that had the atmosphere of Caravaggio's paintings. His use of the chiaroscuro is fascinating and always heightened the depth  to his compositions.

The Calling of Saint Matthew 1599 - 1600  Caravaggio

At the 'Planning of Ideas' element of the assignment I came across the article in the Times Magazine about high achieving schools. There were a number of images of prominent educationalist who had driven this success. I was struck by the use of lighting that the photographer had employed especially on the background models. This was the kind of look and feel I was after along with taking elements of Caravaggio's compositions.
 I also wanted to portray the significant weight of responsibility that this type of role has and the character you must have to lead an establishment such as Blackburn College.

Planning

So I now had the model and I new what look I wanted to achieve. It was time to make a decision on location. Two things happened in a short space of time. Firstly I had been discussing some of my ideas with John, and secondly Andy had taken a small group of students to practice lighting outside the studio. Both these elements pointed to a location of the atrium at the University centre. For the envisaged composition, as well as the Principle I need a number of students for the background. For this I contacted the Student Support service at Blackburn College. I briefed them that I was looking for around 8 students of different social and cultural backgrounds. It was felt that the Principle would like to portray Blackburn college as an all inclusive education establishment.

I was given two dates by the principles secretary. I chose Friday  26th March due to it been a quieter day a Uni.

At this stage I informed security what I was doing and John informed Student Support at UCBC. So everything was book everybody had been informed - or so we though, more on this later.

Practice

Originally I had planned to use the Large Format Camera to capture this image. However, as I got closer to the day and the importance of the shoot started to hit home I gave in to better judgement and decided on DSLR. As no one from the photography dept had taken the Principles photograph I wanted to set a good example, this did start to put a little pressure on. John had suggested it would be a good idea to have a practice session on the Wednesday. He also suggested that it would be a good idea to have an assistant to help on the practice day and the day of the shoot itself. Chelsea very kindly volunteered on the Wednesday and Sarah on the Friday. I got in touch with Student Support and asked if they could get hold of the students for a practice session on the Wednesday.

Wednesday Practice

The set up for this practice session was as Andy taught to some of the students a few weeks before. Two lights were used, one at 45/45 degrees about six foot high. The second was 90 degrees at waist height. The atrium window as the background. 

Set up

1. Meter the background through the camera. Set shutter speed 125th second and set ISO 200. Take a picture. Look at the image, at this stage you want to select the aperture. I wanted the detailed contrast background. Keep taking an image and shutting the aperture down until the desired image. This is normally around f22, the more experienced photographers would go straight to this f stop. This was a good exercise to see what the different  aperture make.

2. 1st light a 45/45 - stand model in position. Turn the power to the highest setting, using a handheld light meter take a reading of the models face. Compare this reading to the background metering taken through the camera. Adjust the 45/45 light until the meter reading matches the background reading.

3. The second light is really only adding a highlight to the side of the model. Yet again turn the light on to full power. Take a meter reading, adjust the light until it matches the background reading and light 1.

This is the basic set up. You can now adjust the power of lights 1 and 2 until you get the desired effect.

It is worth a mention at this point the 1st light 45/45 has a lightbox on it the second has a lightbox but has the front cover removed. This then can be masked to give a thin panel of light down the side of the model.

The images below are using this set up:

Camera Nikon D300                                                   Camera Nikon D300
125th Sec                                                                    125th Sec
f22                                                                               f22
ISO 200                                                                       ISO 200
28mm Prime Lens                                                       28mm Prime Lens





The Big Day






Set Up

The set up was the same as the Wednesday practice but with an added third light with umbrella. As we had to change the direction of the set up from one window of the atrium to the other we need a bit more light to highlight the background model.

I went through the same stages as on the Wednesday practice i.e metering the background etc. From analysing the Wednesday practice shots I turned down the second masked light reducing the highlight to the left hand side as I didn't like the shadow it cast under the chin. This was a decision I later regretted. Please see the practise shot below:

The actual shoot


I fell into a trap, I let things get to me a little bit here. I was annoyed that I had to change location which was not as good a backdrop as the other window and knew it would effect the final images. I had set the f stop to f8 see the image above, as I didn't like the background and wanted to lose detail. I balanced my light all to this setting. F8 is not enough and I would have been better balancing to f22 as the whole background would have been darker and more dramatic, and this would have led to the loss of detail I thought.

Learning Outcomes:

1. As the saying goes 'Best laid plans of mice and men' - it is not always going to go as planed. As a photographer you have to be adaptable. This is were the creative skill aligned with technical skill comes to the fore. I knew the background was not what I wanted, rather than except it, work creatively around it to achieve a look that you feel is acceptable.

2. People will let you down! have a plan B.

3. I have learnt a fantastic lighting technique, learn to use it before trying to adjust it.

4. I did achieve one element of the objectives I set myself. I did work out of my comfort zone and I thoroughly enjoyed it, It has given me the thirst to try more.

5. I gained a huge amount of experience form this shoot, from health and safety (cordoning off areas), to organising models and locations, but most importantly experiencing of this type of shoot. I feel I have gained confidence and will now put my hand up for Student Union jobs that might come around.

6. Always be on the look out for glare reflections when glass is involved in the background.

Big thanks to John for stepping in at the last minuet to assist me on this job. And before anybody asks, no he didn't tutor me throughout  else the pictures would have been a lot better!






Contact Sheet:

Interview with Emma -Fine Art

I was asked to model by one of my fellow students. This was going to be her Fine Art assessment piece. The concept behind this set of images was an interview where I would be answering questions this would be caught on film. The lighting set up was for low key using ambient lighting. This was shot at the university centre photographic dept. A black backdrop was used with black blinds lowered to half way with a black foam reflective board placed from floor level up to thigh height. This let in a 1 meter square of light to the left. To the right we place a black foam board at full length. The use of all the black board and background was to help with light absorption.

 Why am I telling you all this on my blog when it will be on Emma's. Well, to explore this experiment to the enth degree we swapped over at the end of my interview and I became the questioner photographer and Emma the interviewed model. This was never going to be my project as I had already decided on something else, but was curious to see how this would turn out.

The first thing to do before answering any question was to meter the background through the camera. Then close the aperture down by 2 stops or more until the desired effect.

Here are my questions with Emma's photographic responses:

Q1. Why did you want to come to university?

Q2. What did you not like about your last job?

Q.3 What's married life like?

Q4. What would you change?

Q5. How did you feel when you left school?

Q6. What do you particularly like about landscape photography?

Q7. What do you want to do after uni?

Q8. Whats your favorite picture to date/and why?

Q.9 How would you feel if you had to leave the course today?

Q10. Describe your peer group?

Learning Outcomes:



1. I found this to be a really interesting way to take a series of photographs. Seeing the subtle changes in a persons face when asked a number of questions.

2. I used my knowledge of Emma's background to ask certain questions that I knew I would get a different response for the previous asked question - kind of wave effect.

3. I would definitely use this technique again as its a very clever way to probe and record the human responses.






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.

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...