For my exam, I have chosen to focus on "Texture", as it is the only question out of the seven I feel passion for. The whole idea of carefully looking into objects and capturing every little thing within is really satisfying. Throughout this weebly page I have found it really hard to give my personal feelings, However this question allows me to express my feelings.
To begin with I will start by doing a mood board based around my chosen theme on pictures that really catch my eye. At the moment I am looking into 2 photographers, Marc Anderson as he captures bark in the trees in a way where you see every little detail making you saw "WOW" his technique is and courage is inspirational. I can connect to his work as I live in Manchester and we have a variety of greenery allowing me to capture the different textures in trees.
Furthermore I am also looking into Adrienne Adam as he is all about texture but he looks into a variety of things Patterns, Flowers, Rivers, Over and under water, Landscapes and Stones. Due to the fact that I live in Manchester and It is also the ending of Winter I am very limited so I am just going to go with patterns as it is most suitable in addition to this patterns also links/crosses with texture in trees which is very convenient.
When it comes to shoots I am going to search for some majestic trees and brick walls I can work with, express their individual, beautiful identity and also I am going to take pictures of objects where if u look at it with the naked human eye it is nothing special but when I use the camera and zoom in you will see the pattern within to create the object In my opinion I just think it is very satisfying especially with nature.
I know that with texture creating this page will be challenging as I have to show that I am going on a journey also since composition light and depth will be a lot different than something like landscape, so I will have to set up my camera. Texture is all about colours, patterns and depth, and the way how every single detail has a significant part within the photo.
Mind Map
The 5c's
Context- I have got this info of Wikipedia: "Marc Anderson is an American percussionist who has toured and recorded with Steve Tibbetts since 1977. He has also toured and/or recorded with artists such as Lorie Line, Bradley Joseph, Butch Morris, Tony Marino, Don Cherry, Peter Ostroushko, Claudia Schmidt, Dave Moore, Greg Brown, Max Roach, Taj Mahal, Minnesota Orchestra, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian, Choying Drolma, and Altan. From 2009 to 2016, he was the percussionist for Minneapolis Celtic-rock band Boiled in Lead. He is an adjunct professor in the Anthropology department at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota and leads an African drum ensemble and co-teaches an African Cultures class. He has twice received the Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grants and McKnight Foundation Fellowships and has also been awarded a State Arts Board Grant and a West Bank School of Music Composers Grant. He has received four Minnesota Music Awards in various categories and was once nominated for Minnesota Artist of the Year." Composition/Content- The main focus point of the picture if from a very close perspective which helps us see every little detail within the tree that creates itself. A third up the photo there are leading lines like waves/movement that lead up to a point where the level of height has changed, this catches your eye straight away and it makes you not realize it is a tree. The lighting is harsh in this picture in order to really express the texture. Connection - Firstly I have a passion for texture so this clearly links to my work also I have gained aspirations from this photographer that I can implement into my own images. I like the idea of focusing on patterns as a starting point for my project and possibly using contrasting patterns to interesting effects. Comment- In my opinion this picture is astonishing and the way that the picture seems like it is moving creates the sence that the picture was taken to celebrate the beautiful patterns that occur naturally in nature.
Analysis 5c's
Firstly I prefer to do my analysis on this picture as it has more of a purpose to my work as my last outcome is inspired by this.
Composition/Content The focus point of this picture is from a persons perspective which gives it more of an impact as the man is staring at you straight in the eye like he has been through a lot of pain. There are leading lines in the center of the picture from that fact that his face is full of cracks but his pure white eyes stand out it is like the cracks are a resemblance of pain making us feel his pain. The picture has a perfect lighting softly having the black and white really stand out in contrast. I am drawn straight to the midpoint of the picture as there is a big contrast with the dark cracks and his solid clear eyes. Connection I am inspired by this piece of work so this plays a big part within my project as I hope to finally add texture into peoples faces man made and natural.I love how I am starting my project focusing on patterns and as I develop I am going to try and implement the contrasting patterns onto peoples faces. Comment In my opinion this picture is amazing how the textures have been placed and refined onto this mans face also i think this picture is taken to express the amount of pain this man has been through the use of the cracks and the smoke in the background.
1st shoot plan
2nd shoot
Now I am going to take pictures of texture as I want to merge the texture into my models faces.
My first experiment
Now I am showing my process on how I'm going to make these pictures.
1
2
This is my picture set on the layer 'overlay' but as I refined my image and give myself feedback I decided that with this type of texture within my models face it would be better to have the texture blending so you can see the contrast with the concrete and the colour of my models skin:
3
I have refined my models face again to try and do something more cartoonish as you can physically see that he is ill also the cracks in his face express the fact that he is breaking down
Plan for exam shoot
I am going to have three models and I am going to take a picture of them, purposely I am going to tell them individually to show off a certain facial expression so therefore I can add an explanation of why I have chosen the texture to match their face. For example if my model has a moody facial expression I would match up their face with a rough, hard texture as the texture is basically expressing/highlighting the models feelings.
I have used this classic Penguin sign in my picture because it implies that my picture is a book cover.
I have used this text as it looks more Gothic and old English perfect for a horror book.
My exam practice
In my exam I am going to create 3 book covers.
29th April 2019 from this point I will not touch my preparation work.The only work from this date will be work created in my exam.
Exam book cover 1
Exam book cover 2
I have shown this as it highlights how I have got the same smashing glass texture coming from my models eyes.
Exam book cover 3
I have now refined this picture and recreated a new kind now that I have completed my first idea (creating 3 book covers) I am now moving onto film posters.
Film poster 1
Film poster 2
Film poster 3
Evaluation
For this project theme I started by looking at Discarded items. I then did some further research and decided to focus on the theme of Texture the reason why I chose this theme is because I finally decided on creating a horror book, also with discarded items I did not know what journey to take or what I could do as my final picture.
During this project the part I enjoyed the most was developing my skills and images by manipulating them in Photoshop. I really enjoyed going onto the "New adjustment layer" and exploring the different tools that are there for photography. The one filter I found most effective was brightness/contrast as in my opinion it makes my pictures look crisp.
During this project, one new techniques I have experienced was how to use the aperture and shutter speed setting on my camera. This helped me to realize how I could improve my images by adjusting the setting so that my images did not come out too dark or light. Another technique I experienced was how to "add a vector layer mask" on Photoshop this is really effective as I used it in all my pictures. I learnt how to use the "add a vector layer mask" tool and I developed this further by using the brush tool.
On my next project the technique I would like to develop further is how to improve my images by finding the correct locations. In order to do this I think i would need to plan in greater detail so that I spend time finding the correct backgrounds and locations which may mean I will need to take the camera home. I have realized to get the best shot I need to prepare my work at home and away from school.
The first photographer I researched and gained inspiration from was Nomadic Pursuits, The way he uses contrast and lighting is just perfect in my opinion. This helped to shape my own images by realizing I needed to take images of texture and manipulate the texture by adding brightness and contrast.
The technique I enjoyed the most was using the "add a vector layer mask" tool as this is the tool which you would need to use in order to create an optical illusion, making people say "how did he do that?" also I enjoyed this the most as I feel like it developed my skills and helped me to refine my work.
In my opinion the most successful part of the project was my final covers. This is because I really liked them and I feel like I put in all my effort to create them I feel like my work payed off.
The main problem I encountered with this project was time as at first I was going to do discarded items and at the last minute I changed my mind and did texture, however this issues helped me to practice getting my ideas together to get it right. This told me i need to take different shots and manipulate them.