Sunday 6 January 2013

Evaluation


Self Evaluation Report by Laura Parkinson
Exploring Photographic Practice

I’m not going to lie, but when I was given the photographer Wim Wenders as a point of research for this unit, my stomach sank a little. I really didn’t like his technique or his photographs, but could appreciate them for what they were. It was only then, when I did some in-depth research into the thoughts process behind his work and how they were created, that I began to look at his work differently and become more influenced by it.

The first presentation went well, considering me and my partner Cherry Harrison were both very shy! Being able to talk about another photographers work with someone I had only met recently was something I had never done before, and I feel like both of us achieved an awful lot by just speaking in front of 20 people. Therefore, the second presentation was a lot easier, I was able to express my opinion and my peers agreed the idea was very strong and could be executed well.

I originally planned to take a set of images based on the work of Wim Wenders, comparing and contrasting dated exteriors and interiors with modern ones. I took a series of photographs one day and could not find the passion I had when I conjured up the idea. Thus, I decided to run two projects side by side, to see which one attracted my attention more. It became clear to me after two weeks to running both projects that my second project; concentrating on interiors rather than exteriors, was more motivating for me, and really got my photographical senses flowing!

My second idea was something that I enjoyed, but with regards to emulating Wim Wenders work, I am not so sure I have achieved this to the highest standard. I think that I emulated his work in regards to his presentation, composition and colour, but I think if I was to do this project again, I would need to research a lot deeper into his work and emulate his work with similar meaning as well as visual. I think that placing old and modern photographs together was a good idea initially, but after looking at my final images, I am not too sure. If I was to do this set of photographs again, I think I would take photographs in an old style exclusively. The photographs of my Grandma’s house were strong enough by themselves, and in some of the photograph pairings, the modern photographs ruined them, in my opinion. The photograph I included in my finals of the painting above the dressing table was my favourite outcome from this unit, as it was executed well, in contrast to my above statement.

Overall, this project was one that I struggled with. Trying to make my work relate to a photographer was difficult, as I thought that my work had to relate in a way other people could see instantly, and think “oh yeah, she was influenced by Wim Wenders”. Changing ideas mid-project was something I had never done before, usually, things work first time round for me, so having to change my ideas was somewhat distressing. In the future, and if I was given the opportunity to do this project again, I would have a clear idea from the beginning, towards to end of the time given to complete the work, I began to feel stressed that my work would not meet the standards given when relating to the work of Wim Wenders.


Written Report


Written Report
Exploring Photographic Practice
Laura Parkinson

My photographer I had to emulate for this project was Wim Wenders, a filmmaker by heart, but a photographer who explores America with his medium format camera, in search of locations for his upcoming films. The recurring themes of his work include desolate landscapes, lonely buildings and interior scenic paintings, which I talked about in my first presentation. When I analysed Wim Wenders book ‘Written in the West’, I picked up on the interior shots he produced, which inevitably influenced my final project. My partner and me felt that Wim Wenders was stating his love for the American dream, much like the rest of his work. His work was dated when comparing it to our time now, but reflected the American dream – with references being drawn from the Rock & Roll culture of the time. He was largely influenced by the paintings of Edward Hopper from the 1930’s, using the same perspective and the colours red, white and blue. However, we did notice that Edward Hopper tended to use people in his works of art, whereas Wim Wenders preferred to leave them out, as they distracted the attention from the surroundings. His first photography book was Written in the West, and was exhibited in various high profile galleries across Europe. Wim Wenders shot on a 6x7 medium format camera for his project, as well as a Leica with a 28mm lens, and a Makina-Plaubel.

My partner and me decided on two different projects to emulate Wender’s work. I originally decided to capture dated exterior signage of shops, and compare and contrast them against modern signage on the high street. However, I then decided on a proposal whereby I went out and photographed my Grandma’s house, and using these photographs and placing them in contrast with modern décor. My Grandma’s house has been uninhabited for three years now, and has not been redecorated since the 60’s. The photograph of the painting over the Coca-Cola vending machine was what inspired me, as it reminded me of the painting that is hanging above my Grandma’s old dresser. The work of Yoanne Lemoine has also inspired me, as he captures photographs in the same style of Wenders. He also uses a 6x7 medium format camera, however his photographs are soft in colours, compared with Wenders harshness of colour he sometimes uses. I want to capture 6 photographs in total, with 3 sets. Each set will have a photograph showing a room or place in my Grandma’s house, and the other photographs will be a direct copy of this but in the modern times. I want to keep the composition exactly the same as far as possible. I will continue with Wenders 6x7 format (or 7x6 depending on the rotation of the image). I originally wanted to use a medium format camera, but the time given for this project meant that I may not have gotten the right image, and processing the shot would have cost a lot of money that I do not have. Using digital and Photoshop gives me the freedom to experiment so that I can emulate Wenders work to the highest standard.

Final Images




I have decided on my final images, which I will cutting down from 5 to 3.






Saturday 5 January 2013

#6

I paid a visit to my Grandma's house again today, to take some more photographs that I could combine together in a set to emulate Wim Wenders work. I noticed my Grandma's old clock on the wall, that she has had for many years, and saw the vintage clock against the old floral wallpaper created a nice visual effect.

f/5.0, 1/13, ISO 800

I took this photograph using my 18-55mm lens with a focal point of 39mm, and then cropped it in Photoshop to a 7x6 format, in the style of Wim Wenders. I think the vintage clock and wallpaper compliment each other visually, and emulate Wenders work perfectly.


f/5.6, 1/100, ISO 2500

I placed the dated image of the vintage clock against this modern interior design. My partner has just updated the decor of his room, so I decided to take photographs of his room for some of my images in contrast. To contrast against the above image, I took this photograph, as the striped black and white border and modern, square clock is something people recognise from today. I placed this in Photoshop too, and cropped it in the 6x7 format. I then turned down the saturation to about -40%, to exaggerate the black and white of the shot. I then also placed the center of both clocks on the same level, to make the continuity appear more evident. I had to use a high ISO on this image to obtain a faster shutter speed, because I had to hold my camera in the air and use the swivel screen on my camera to achieve the face on view that this photograph shows.



Thursday 3 January 2013

#5

I decided to replicate the image I took at my Grandma's house, by taking a photograph of my partners bedroom wall, using the same composition but in the modern day.

f3.5, 1/13, ISO 640

I originally took this photograph where there were two photographs hung on the wall, and because of how narrow the room was, it meant that I could not get all of the desk, as well as the wall in shot. Therefore, today, I decided to move the desk underneath one of the paintings that most matched the painting at my Grandma's house. I felt this composition worked better than the other image, as it looked similar, which is the idea that I am aiming for.


This was the photograph that I took beforehand, when I did not move the desk. The composition does not work, as you cannot see how it relates to the dated image at all, and it just does not look visually pleasing!



I decided to place my photographs together in the same format, so that I could see the similarities, and so that the viewer could too. I feel that this works really well as a presentation idea, as you can see the two images together in the same document means that you can see the concept more clearly and make judgements for yourself. For my final submission, I think that I will be using this presentation method with all of my images!

#4

To photograph the contrasting photograph against the shot of my Grandma's bathroom, in the style of Wim Wenders, I decided I needed to hunt down a modern bathroom. My own bathroom and bathrooms of friends and family were relatively old, and had not been replaced in the last 8 years or so. Therefore, I needed to think outside the box.

Photograph from my Grandma's house

Photograph from modern bathroom
This is the photograph that I captured. I visited my local B&Q to look at their showrooms, and found this modern bathroom which had the same fixtures; bath, toilet, sink and towel rail. I had to do a lot of post production on this photograph (see below).

Original Image
This was the raw image that I took from my camera, of the bathroom before post production. The walls were covered with price lists and offers, so I had to pull the image into Photoshop, and use the healing brush to edit these out. I also used the content aware tool for the first time, which made some of the editing easier. 


f8.0, 1/25, ISO 1000

This was the image after I edited all the price lists out. I thought that the colour didn't really match the contrasting image, and they looked a world apart. Therefore, I changed the colour balance to make the image have more of a green and blue colour. This complimented the set, and therefore, I can do this with my other 4 sets of photographs, to make them compliment each other and the other photographs in the set.

Photographs I did not use

f4.5, 1/60, ISO 800

I took this photograph when I visited my Grandma's house at night, so the natural lighting from the window did not cast the shadows that I did on the photograph I have used. I like the composition of the image, but I do not like the harshness of the light on the ceiling.

f4.5, 1/25, ISO 160

For the modern contrast of the set, I took this photograph at my Grandma and Grandad's house in Tottington. When I took the photograph inside B&Q, I was constrained to taking the photograph in the composition I captured, as there was only two walls that surrounded the showroom. Therefore, I decided to visit my Grandma and Grandad's house, where I hoped I could take a photograph of their bathroom. However, I struggled. My lens was not wide enough, even on 18mm, so I could not capture the entire bathroom without cropping the frame a lot. Therefore, I am using the photograph of the bathroom from B&Q's showroom instead of this one.



Sunday 30 December 2012

Editing


I straightened up this photograph using the ruler tool on Photoshop, as the painting was slightly wonky, as shown in my first blog post relating to this project! I thought that the painting looked better when it was central and straight, as it gave the photograph more depth and continuity. 

Thursday 27 December 2012

#3

f3.5, 1/100, ISO 1000

After taking this photograph at my Grandma's house, I realised that there was a yellow bleach bottle in shot, which I should have moved. For lack of time over Christmas, and the house being under offer for sale, I decided to test my Photoshop techniques and edit the bottle out. I think this was very effective, as it tested my skills and also made me learn more about the healing brush and replacing the outside details over the bottle. This took me about an hour to complete, along with editing out the light that was in the right top corner. If I have time before the house sells, I will be going back to photograph this room again, without the bottle!

f8.0, 1/25, ISO 640

I took this photograph for my modern contrast set, in contrast with the photograph on my Grandma's wall that shows a dated wooden chest of draws and a painting from the 1920's. I think this contrasted quite nicely, as the photographs are of a landscape similar to the painting my Grandma possessed, and the iMac throws in the modern feel. I used an 18mm focal point in this photograph, and because the room is so thin, I could not get the whole wall in. Therefore, before the deadline, I will be using this location again but using different compositions to make the intention more obvious to the viewer. Hopefully, fingers crossed, I will be able to use a focal point like 10mm or move the desk to make way for one of the photographs to be directly above the iMac itself!

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Irina Werning - Back to the Future

For my set of photographs, I want to recreate the interior design in the style of Wim Wenders, as shown in some of his photographs. All the interiors were modern at the time, and some still remain in people's houses and dated cafes and shops. I want to place this in contrast with modern houses, but recreating the same scene in the modern day.

"I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today… Two years ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future.."
http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/

Irina Werning did a set of photographs, where she recreated old images in the modern day, from when she was child. Werning has taken old family snaps and recreated them in the modern day, still keeping things the same such as clothing, location and pose. These images are inspiring and have definitely made me think deeper into how I am going to present my photographs. 



Wednesday 19 December 2012

Further Thoughts...

After thinking more about my project and how I can relate my work and become inspired by the photographs that Wim Wenders has produced, I decided to look at his book and think about the ideas that I set out in both of my proposals. I plan now to take another set of photographs in my Grandma's house, as the first time I visited with the intention of taking photographs, I was rushed. I feel if I have more time then I can take some more inspirational images that are inspired exclusively by the work of Wenders.

When photographing my first proposal, using old vs modern signage and street interiors, I found it too difficult to find places that fit the bill, so to speak, and the photographs that I produced were not great at all. I plan to still continue experimenting with the two ideas I planned in my proposals, as I am still not sure what I want to achieve. Looking at my photographs that I taken so far though, I think that I am going to make my second proposal, taking photographs of the contrast between dated and modern homes, through to be my final project.


After taking a few photographs and thinking about both of the proposals together, I have decided to photograph my Grandma's old house she lived in before she died.

The photographs I took regarding my proposal idea number one were really mundane, I didn't feel at all interested in taking any photographs and found it difficult to research because of the lack of interest. I know that I am not going to enjoy every aspect of photographs, and sometimes I will hate some areas of my job and career, but I wanted to enjoy emulating Wim Wenders work, and did not want to be stuck with a bad mental image of his work. I realised that emulating Wim Wenders work was going to be difficult; his work was highly influenced by the American culture and I could not emulate this.

The photographs I have taken so far of my Grandma's house have been visually appealing and the project is very exciting for me to proceed with!

Tuesday 18 December 2012

My Grandma's House #2

I paid a visit to my Grandma's house again this afternoon to retake some photographs I didn't feel worked as well, and to spend some more time there to capture the true beauty of the place.

f/3.5, 1/80, ISO 1000

I decided not to add the layer of film grain and scratching effect onto this set of photographs, some of the shots looked naturally film like. The only editing techniques I did to all of these photographs was edited them into the 6x7 format, changed the contrast slightly and made some of the photographs, such as the one above and below, less saturated!

f/3.5, 1/60, ISO 400

This is my favourite photograph from the set (above), as I really like the focus of it, and the colours that are involved. I had to use my Canon 430EXii flashgun for this shot, as the natural light was being blocked by the wardrobe door, however, I think it gives it a good feel, making the hat stand out more against the background.

f/3.5, 1/100, ISO 1000

I realised the error of my ways after I left the location and looked at this shot, as the bottle of bleach looks so ridiculous in the vintage decor. I plan now to use the healing brush on replace mode in Photohop CS5 to get rid of the bleach bottle, this will inevitably test my Photoshop skills! If this does not work, however, I will return to the location once more and this time, move the bottle!

f/4.0, 1/40. ISO 1000

Vinyl records are my favourite thing that my Grandma owned, so I decided to take a fairly close up photograph of a stack I found in her bedroom. I plan to pair this up with a modern photograph of a stack of CD's, as that is the modern day equivalent to vinyl!

Thursday 13 December 2012

Grain and Film Scratching Digital Experimentation

After editing my photographs from my Grandma's House, I wanted to do an experiment and see what type of film-like techniques I could achieve by overlaying photographs and images of film grain and scratches on top of my images.

#1

#2

#3

#4


#1 Film Grain by su-Y on deviantART
#2 Film Grain on PhotoShop created by myself
#3 Expired Film Effect on josweb.co.uk by Bittbox
#4 Expired Film Texture by stock-basicality on deviantART http://stock-basicality.deviantart.com/art/Old-Film-03-121718911

My Grandma's House #1

My Grandma died in 2009 and ever since then, this house has been left untouched. The vintage and old decor still remain, and everything is still pretty much untouched since we removed all the clothes 12 months ago. I love the atmosphere inside her, so quiet and still. These are for the idea for the second proposal, as the first proposal idea did not work. I am continuing with both ideas, practicing and experimenting, so I can decide which works better overall!

f/3.5, 1/25, ISO 1000

f/5.6, 1/10, ISO 1000

f/4.5, 1/13, ISO 1000

f/5.0, 1/6, ISO 1000

f/3.5, 1/25, ISO 1000
Overall, I think that this idea works better than my initial proposal, as using old interiors and comparing them with new ones will be visually pleasing and interesting. I plan now to take photographs of different old locations, such as cafes, other peoples houses and maybe churches, and compare them with much more modern structures, but replicate the same composition. For example with image #3, I plan to pair this image with a photographs of some modern toys that my little sister owns my our home, using the same compositional techniques.


Film Scratches courtesy of cinegrain.com on Google Images

Wednesday 12 December 2012

First Shoot!

I ventured out today into my local town of Darwen, a relatively quiet town consisting of a few modern shops such as Superdrug, Boots and Asda Local, but mainly built up of family business still stuck in the traditional decor of the 80's and 90's. I took this opportunity to document the side of my proposal that shows the time-warp, as I didn't have much luck in Blackpool (more of that later)

Tea at the Cafe
The first thing I photographed was this fairly modern tea set, outside a cafe in my town. Although the cafe itself was relatively dated inside and out, the cutlery was pretty modern, which surprised me a lot! Therefore, this lead me to take a few photographs of the empty tea cup and condiments, thus presenting my first photograph! I took this shot into Photoshop to edit, as it was a bit over exposed (due to a sudden change in light), so I lowered the exposure, heightened the contrast and added some film grain over the top to give it the same film effect that the work of Wim Wenders has. I think this is a very good first attempt at the proposal, although not what I originally intended.

Free Off Licence?
 As I continued to walk through my town, I couldn't help but stop and notice this tired, run down corner shop that I have failed to notice before. This shot was exactly what I had in mind when I wrote my proposal, the dated, un-modernised structures that are still standing today. Wim Wenders photographed at lot of modern (at the time) structures across Paris, Texas, therefore I wanted to show the same structures but in the British 21st Century. I applied the same film grain to this photograph, but did not need to change the exposure, as I had sorted all this out in camera.

Shop Window
My favourite photograph that I have taken today is this one, showing a dated shop window selling art deco lamps and sparkling chandeliers. This caught my eye, as the entire interior of the shop was dated, selling old vintage lamps and box television sets, but the shop window really caught my eye!

Original Image
This was the original image before post production and cropping to the 6x7 format. I took this photograph and really didn't like the composition, but it could not be helped because of the lens I was using. The crop that I have done was a tight crop similar to the image that Yoanne Lemoine had captured of the gypsy window in his set 'Empty Spaces' (see Yoanne Lemoine blog post). However, I will be visiting this location again to re-shoot as I think that with more images and compositions, the photograph will look really good. I also used the film grain effect on here, heightened the contrast and cropped excessively to achieve this shot.


Film Scratches courtesy of struckdumb on deviantART