Darkness and Light.

This week I stumbled across a website of work by Derek Langley who has produced over 400 sepia and black and white images of various places that include London,Oxford and the Lake District. I was particularly interested on his shots of Cambridge as it is my nearest City and I frequently visit there. I am always looking for new ideas and options for shooting and I have a keen interest in black and white photography.

I looked through 245 images in total. The sepia images seem as though they are trying to appear older than they are. I am torn with this idea between thinking that the photographer has created a lovely old quality but also that they could be almost seen as dishonest in their appearance. I much prefer the black and white images as I find them much more striking. Some of the images depict areas of Cambridge that I have not visited and I now feel keen to explore a bit more. I has not been made clear on the website why the photographer has chosen to produce in black and white and I am always quite conscious of producing black and white images just for the sake of appearing "arty".

All of the photographs are silver gelatin black and white photographs and the sepia toned images are  created from the black and white photos using thiocarbamide toning. I was unsure what this was as I have no experience of darkrooms or producing photos any other way that digitally. I decided to research it to find out more. From what I understand the print is bleached until the required reduction is achieved. It is then thoroughly rinsed until all of the residual yellow stain from the bleach has gone. It is then toned with the thiocarbamide toner, rinsed again one the full image density and returned. It can then be dried off. A dark room is not need for this process and I am considering giving it ago as it is apparently relatively easy once you have practiced the process once or twice.



Bridge of Sighs - sepia.

Clare College - black and white.

Second visit to Melford Hall.

Just before Christmas I had my second visit to Melford Hall where I have recently began volunteering as Photographer. They usually have shots in mind for me or give me a rough idea of what they are hoping for. This visit required me to shoot outside the Hall but I needed to produce shots that were not "too wintery looking" as the Hall is not open during the Winter they would be unable to use the images. This was quite difficult as we were experiencing a particularly cold spell and when I arrived there had been a harsh frost. They were also looking for inside shots of the impressive Christmas tree that the family themselves decorate before taking the Hall back for the Christmas period. I also had my first tour of the whole house and it was amazing. There were so many things I wanted to shoot but due to time constraints, much of this I hope to do on my next visit.

Below are some of the 127 photos I took.

I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to develop my own style and try out different compositions. I can see that I still need to improve my technical ability but I have also realised how much I have improved and gained in confidence. A year ago I would never approach anyone to ask if I could photograph for them, let alone the National Trust and I am so glad that they have given me a chance.

TAOP Formal Assessment Results.

I have had over the Christmas period to really think about my formal assessment results for The Art of Photography course. I was particularly worried about receiving them mainly as I had no idea what to expect or what standard of work I was producing. I desperately to do well but accepted that the photographs I produce are not always right technically.

The results were published online in November and I had a look at my expected mark but I was keen to receive the written letter confirming my result.

I would of just been pleased to pass, even though I had put a lot of work in. I received a total of 68 marks which is so much better than I expected. I found the breakdown of marks really useful to give me the idea of what level I am currently working at. I realise that my marks from level 1 do not count towards the final degree class but the mark I achieved means that I have produced work of a Class 2:1 standard.

I really hope that I can maintain this level of work, if not improve upon it.

The assessor comments mentioned that to improve I should:

• maintain and increase my contextual research.
• look at the work of others that I enjoy.
• develop my evaluative and reflective writing - looking at my own work and others.

I am really going to concentrate on these things and hopefully achieve a higher mark at the end of this course. I really look forward to progressing and I feel that the assessment has renewed my enthusiasm and inspired me to try to improve.

Photography in the News - 2012 in photos.

As we are rapidly approaching the end of the year I decided to look back over the past year in photographs, courtesy of www.boston.com.

I decided to select several images that caught my eye either by the memorable subject they portray or through their composition.

 

 

The Colosseum, Rome, Italy with two people stood in front depicting a snow fall as Rome was on high alert for a second Winter blast. (Massimo Percossi/EPA)

 

 

Taken in Eastern Siberia this shot shows a child whose eyelashes have been covered with  hoarfrost as the temperature reached minus 35 degrees Celsius. (Viktor Everstov/Reuters)



The Jubilee celebrations played a big part this year lasting four days to mark the Queen's 60th year. (Sang Tan Associated Press)

 

 And who could possibly forget the London Olympics! Athletes running past the Olympic flame on day one. (Daniel Ochoa De Olza/ Associated Press)

I included this multiple exposure photograph of Andy Murray as he serves against Novak Djokovic as I was particularly drawn to the pattern and repetition. I like the fact that you cannot tell who the tennis player is, and that does not matter the image. You also get a sense of movement through the photo. (Dylan Martinez /Reuters)



This photo really caught my eye because of the rich and vibrant use of green. To the left of the frame you can also spot a farmer as he walks through a paddy field near his home in Nepal. (Prakash Mathema/AFP/GettyImages)

Over the next year I intend to create my own album of images that will represent my 2013 so that I will be able to look back at the end of the year and remember places I have been to and things that I have seen.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/12/2012_year_in_pictures_part_i.html
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/12/2012_year_in_pictures_part_ii.html

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/12/2012_year_in_pictures_part_iii.html

Photography in the News - Landscape Photographer of the year 2012.

This week I have been looking at the Landscape Photographer of the year award, particularly as I have an interest in this area, but I am also keen to look at various photographic genres and the standard of work out there.

I found it particularly interesting that this years winner was then disqualified as the image he submitted violated contest rules for taking digital editing too far. Whilst it has been agreed that he was not trying to deceive the judges I do think that this is a fair result. I personally do not like to do much digital editing. I am happy to alter exposure, contrast or to crop an image but I like the photo to stay as close a representation to the shot scene as possible.

The new winner Simon Butterworth with his image in titled "Tenement buildings at Port Glasgow, Inverclyde" is a worthy winner.

 

 

I am particularly drawn to the repetition of pattern and how your eye moves diagonally across the frame. So much thought has gone into composition and the angle of the camera to produce this interesting shot.

I personally do not know how they managed to select a winner. I have taken a look through the winners list and the other entrants are equally as amazing! It would be interesting to know exactly what the judges are looking for and the criteria that must be met.

I would love to be able to enter a competition like this......maybe in the future, who knows.

 

Winners list viewed from http://www.take-a-view.co.uk/2012_winners.htm

 

Disqualification info and winners image taken from http://www.petapixel.com/2012/11/02/landscape-photographer-of-the-year-2012-stripped-of-title-for-too-much-shoppin/

 

 

 

Photography in the news - Everybody does have a twin.

This week I had a little help from my sister as it was her who had come across this article, and thought that I would be interested.

It is about a photographer, Francois Brunelle, who has studied peoples faces since he became a photographer in 1968 when he was 18. He has produced some amazing portraits of people who at  first glance seem to be twins, but are in fact unrelated. He says that "the portraits allow him to explore the intimate relationship between subjects and how they approach their remarkably similar appearances".

 

 

 

 

 

The project is called I'm not a look-a-like and shows people with North American and European backgrounds. People are still being invited to come forward until the project ends next year.

 

 

I love the idea of this project and studying peoples faces closely rather than randomly snapping you can really get a feel for the research that has lead up to each image. I am still working on creating my own personal project.

 

 

Taken from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2247797/Twin-portraits-Quebec-photographer-Francois-Brunelle-takes-pictures-look-alikes.html

 

 

Photography in the news-Is smartphone journalism the way of the future?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/photography-blog/2012/nov/29/smartphone-journalism-photography
I actually gave this article a lot of thought and can see it from both perspectives. I have instagram myself but have never thought to use it to take 'serious' images, tending to instead use it to capture spur of the moment things in a light hearted way. The advantage of apps such as instagram is that they give you so much more freedom when shooting a scene. Aside from the fact that smartphones are easy to carry and so much lighter than a digital camera, they also remove having to think about which setting should be used so compostiton can be concentrated on. Like the article mentions, IPhones are inconspicuous,every other person has one so it is very easy to blend in as opposed to poking a lens in someones face.

But I also think that these kinds of apps remove the skill and techniques used to produce a beautiful image. I think that there is a time and a place for these apps and serious journalism may not be one of them. They make every other person a photographer, does this make a mockery of the profession if 'anyone' can do it??