THEME 1: INSIDE
All my photographs within the theme, Inside, were taken using my mobile phone, being an iPhone 11. This theme allowed me to experiment with the everyday, casual objects I was able to find within my house, and more specifically, my room. With most, if not all photos present In this theme, I wanted to create a shallow depth of field. Without a professional camera to use at the time, I was faced with a difficult task. Yet, through perseverance and determination, I began to reflect on the positioning of my phone when taking these pictures. I took the initiative of varying the distance between my phone and the objects I wanted to photograph. I believe this varied distance between my phone and the different objects, as well as the different approaches in technique can be seen here with the images I have displayed.
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THEME 2: LEADING LINES
THEME 3: WINDOW WORLDS
The next theme I had worked on was the theme of Window Worlds. I had found this theme quite difficult as I was not able to utilise any curtains in my house to produce photographs with a feel of gloom. therefore, rather than taking the regular approach of taking photographs of light shinning through curtains/ blinds, I wanted to experiment with adding a sort of abstraction to my work. My thought process to do this involved creating a reflection using the flash against the glass on the window. This not only allowed the outside world to be seen, but also certain features of my room. For my first photograph, I utilised LED lights to shine magenta lighting against my window. I utilised this lighting to photograph the trees outside, along with some reflection from my room, to produce an appealing image. The next two photos consist of subtle reflections of my bed, against the main focus of the outside world which can be seen when looking out of my window. The very last photo was taken using more flash, as this allowed more of a reflection to be portrayed, therefore allowing more of a contrast. This heavy contrast between my room and the outside world, expressing the difference between two worlds, separated by windows.
THEME 4: EXTREME CLOSEUPS
The theme of Extreme Closeups was another one of my favourites during the transition work. With these images, I had priotise the focus of my images. Although it may seem easy to get incredibly close to a subject and photograph it, it is much more difficult due to the focus required. This means that the positioning of my phone not only had to be extremely close up, but also had to be in a specific position where everything was able to be in focus. The flash on my phone was also utilised in these images, as the flash brightened the images and made key details stand out. When photographing food, like the piece of lettuce or the pineapple, I had to position my phone from specific angles in order to enhance the key details and textures on the fruit. When photographing my eyes, and the eyes of my dog, I had many attempts of taking it from a levelled position, to avoid blur and focus the eyes to the best of my ability. Photographing the white flower was my favourite, as I had first hydrated the flower by splashing water and allowing water droplets to cover the leaves, and therefore stand out in my photos.
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THEME 5: LOOKING UP
The theme of Looking Up was another extremely enjoyable theme to experiment with. Working in this area meant I could utilise the outside world, as well as indoors, which I found extremely useful. When taking photographs for this theme, I wanted to portray an overwhelming sense of amazement and also a slight sense of fear. With the pictures taken outside, the sense of amazement is expressed through the beautiful weather, as a tree can be seen to reach into the sky, while signs and wooden poles tower high. The positioning of my camera in these pictures successfully emphasises the size of these subjects, and in some cases, presents them as very strong and sturdy. I wanted to continue to convey these feelings in my work indoors, and therefore used a chandelier to express beauty. The shiny chandelier prisms reflected the light from the chandelier itself, as well as the light from my flash setting, to brighten the area of focus and produce a vivid image. In addition, I wanted to contrast this feeling of beauty with a sense of slight fear and eeriness, and to do this I had utilised my loft. The light present in the loft was produced by a slightly dim lightbulb, which I had also enhanced through using the flash setting. I decided to not fully extend the ladder, but instead leaving it half open. By taking the photo from the ladder, its almost as if my viewers are also in the process of climbing the ladder, which will result in the viewers possibly becoming more engaged with my work.
THEME 6: PLAYFUL CONSTRUCTION
The last theme assigned to me was the theme of Playful Construction. This theme was interestingly difficult, as I wanted to produce photographs which would be different from others around me. The first photograph involved experimenting with paper, cutting it into the shape of a heart and then producing a broken heart. I had taken the photograph from a specific angle rather than from above, as this allowed me to almost create a shallow depth of field with the use of my iPhone camera, which I found very interesting. The second photograph involved experimenting with the McDonald's Monopoly stickers, which I was able to collect the summer. I wanted to organise these in the shape of a question mark, as there was a question mark present on the stickers, as well as wanting to express a sense of 'wonder' into my work. The next two photos can emphasise when I struggled with this theme, as I was forced to follow the basic path to create smiley faces and stickmen.Both these images were taken from above on a piece of plain A4 paper to create a white background and focus the objects, The final photograph involved more experimenting, in this case experimenting with chips. I wanted to construct a fish using chips, to express the meal of 'fish and chips' in a slightly more creative way. Once again, this photograph was taken from above, utilising the flash tool to avoid any unwanted or unnecessary shadows from camera shake.
In retrospect, I really enjoyed working in all of the themes assigned, as I was able to experiment with my photography skills using my iPhone camera, and get a sense of what my A Level Photography studies will be like. I believe it has helped me develop my character as a photographer, and will influence and motivate me in my work further down the course.
In retrospect, I really enjoyed working in all of the themes assigned, as I was able to experiment with my photography skills using my iPhone camera, and get a sense of what my A Level Photography studies will be like. I believe it has helped me develop my character as a photographer, and will influence and motivate me in my work further down the course.
STAGE 2- GALLERY VISITS
GALLERY VISIT 1 - Rites of Passage @ Unit London
I decided to visit the Rites of Passage exhibition, which focuses around the theme of liminal spaces in Unit London Gallery, which is located in Mayfair. This was a choice I encouraged myself to make in preparation for my A-Level studies in Photography. I chose to visit this specific gallery first, as due to my prior research, I had realised that Unit London had very good reviews from the public and was very well known, as well as specialising in contemporary art, which I find truly intriguing. When visiting this gallery, I knew I had made the right choice as the artwork present there is fascinating. The gallery itself was in impeccable condition, with a very modern theme and interior. When percieving some of the artwork which was on display, i was mesmarised. The heavy use of complimentary colours interested me the most as they worked harmoniously and produced art work which was simply brilliant. All artwork was also displayed in a very neat and ordianly fashion, as well as being quite intelligent due to the arrangement of placing artwork with similar themes/ colours adjacent to each other. In addition, the intricate detail used in these artworks had also fascinated me. as some paintings even looked like a form of photography due to the incredible detail which the artist had focused on. I really enjoyed viewing and analysing these pieces of art, as even though they are paintings, they allowed me to start reflecting on my own form of art which I will create during my Photography studies, as well as motivating me to create the best images I possibly could. One specific artwork I really liked is the one which can be seen in the center of the image above, as it really stood out to me and was quite unique with the extensive use of the vibrant green. The green used here made me directly think about nature and life, and the rising of the ancient-looking column made me think of possible deeper meanings behind the artwork. This gallery visit has also taught me that art is not only on the surface, which can be seen by the naked eye, but also goes deeper than this. For me, this means that almost every, if not all, piece of art has a deeper meaning, which is open for interpretation to the viewers, which makes it even more beautiful. I enjoyed my visit to Unit London as not only was it extremely pleasant, but it has also helped me grow as a person before my Photography studies, which I believe has put me on the right path.
GALLERY VISIT 2- Deutsche Borse @ The Photographer's Gallery
Another gallery I decided to visit to enhance my preparation for A-Level Photography was The Photographer's Gallery, which is located in Oxford Circus. When doing research for galleries to visit, this gallery caught my attention very quickly due to its name. Diving deeper with my research, I was able to find out that this gallery is solely devoted to photography, and was the first public gallery in the UK to do so. During my visit to this gallery, I had spent my time in the Deutsche Borse Foundation Prize exhibition, which included the work of four artists in the shortlists: Poulomi Basu, Alejandro Cartagena, Cao Fei and Zineb Sedira, Although I had not heard of these artists prior to my visit, I was shocked when I saw their photography. The skill which they portrayed in their works was fascinating, as it was clearly visible to me that they spent lots of time with their work, and put incredible amounts of effort. I really enjoyed anaylsing all the photos which were around, as it made me realise how beautiful even the most simple photographs can be. As a student, it also made me realise how important lighting and focus are when it comes to taking photographs. One of my favourite photographs from this gallery visit would definitely be the work of Cao Fei, titled 'Nova', produced in 2019. Although it may be seen as simple to some, I truly believe this photograph is remarkable. The positioning of the person is perfect, allowing a clear and distinct shadow of the subject, in this case being the individual in the astronaut costume, to be formed. The shinning sunlight reflects of the sea, allowing an even more beautiful aspect to the picture. Not only do I like this picture due to the aesthetically pleasing look it has, but also due to the reason that it made me think of it to a deeper level. When noticing the shadow, working coordinately with the astronaught costume, I immediately thought of space and the universe, and the phrase 'best of both worlds' began to fill my mind. Furthermore, this gallery visit definitely influenced me and my photo work during the summer. The focus Cao Fei used in this specific photograph had remained in my mind, and had motivated me to almost mimic her style when using different objects to create different shadows, linking to my theme of 'Leading Lines'. I am really glad to have visited this art gallery, as not only was it incredibly mesmarising, but also linked extremely well to my A-level studies, therefore allowing me to get a better understanding on what to possibly expect further down the line, as well as helping me to grow as a student.