A studio session with Abe.

Exploring the idea of how the context of time can have an impact on the representation of a character. 

I asked Abe to think about things which evoke a particular emotion or attitude. Whether this a feeling of greatness, power, sadness or anger etc... it is evident that time alongside the notion of context has a direct impact with regards to how I exemplify my subject. 

These are only the digital photographs from the session. I will upload the results from my film after they are processed. 

I have stolen the lighting techniques of Bailey and Nadar and have adapted so that they are my own. In another sense, I have also used Avedon's approach to portraiture when posing my model. By this, I mean I have allowed the subject to move freely...it is a true perception of their character. 

Further research within the library.

Further research within the library has enabled me to see and approach the concept of time through portraiture completely differently. It is now evident to me that the initial presence of time has an immense impact on how a subject is portrayed within the photograph. For example, if the subject at that moment of time is frustrated or upset, that will be reflected through the photograph. Time alongside context is a very discrete yet powerful principle. Personally I would love to explore this further.

In a similar sense, it is clear that the work of Andre Kertesz, David Bailey and Nadar etc... are very intimate. They show the body language and character of their subjects rather than their impression of them. This alongside the stark, powerful and certainly memorable high contrast black and white style portrays the subject as having a powerful status. 

I will continue to explore black and white lighting techniques in order to personify my selected subjects in  a similar way.

Exhibition. Feral Child in the city.

Unfortunately, due to being in the studio everyday this week (paid work), I was not able to attend or even visit the exhibition space. However, despite this, Iwas still able to print off my final photographs and ask a fellow course mate to display them for me. Although I would have personally liked to put up my work myself, in all honesty, my studio work from my perspective is far more important than the exhibition.

 

 

In any circumstance I wouldn't be at all happy with the representation of my work, afterall it is stuck to cardboard. However, due to being featured in a fair few 3rd year graduate exhibitions, I am not too concerned with regards to the exemplification of my photographs within this exhibition.

Hopefully the photographs will speak for themselves in this instance.



Colour dark room experimentation. Merging photographs

Although I do admire the last photographs I had previously taken, I wanted to make my work a bit more personal with regards to time and my physical photographic experiences/development whilst living in Manchester.

In order for this to be possible, I thought it would be clever to merge my most recent photograph with the first photograph I had created in Manchester.

The image overlayed was produced from my cameraless series, inspired by the work of Man Ray. For this to work, I merely photographed the cameraless image and layered both negatives on top of each other. I then simply experimented within the colour darkroom until I achieved results that reached my expectations.

 

 

Progression session- A potential final set of images.

For this studio session, I decided to explore the principle of time through alternative methods. By this, I am showing time through less obvious means. Looking at and combining lighting styles which have been frequently used throughout the 70's to the present day, my intentions were to show the diverse nature of time and how it can both effect the photograph and the model. In relation to this, I also asked my make-up artist to think about the theme of time and construct a style of hair and make-up which is very unique and creative. Often, I have noticed that many make-up artists are told exactly what to do rather than being allowed to do whatever they want. This is within a sense a chance for them to be as creative and inspired as they'd like.

This series of photographs will be titled 'Feral child in the city'. After all, every person involved within these photographs were in a sense feral; there were no rules or restrictions.

Personally, this is an approach to photography I will continue to focus on even after this unit is over.

 

Experimentation session with Alex.

Experimenting with a variety of lighting and colour techniques. This was within itself just a session to further explore the studio and how different lighting and camera techniques can exemplify the concept of time. Different colours can often represent an alternative form of time; signifying a particular mood or atmosphere. In a similar sense, by using a rear flash you can capture the natural movement of the subject whilst retaining a clear portrait.
This style of photography is very interesting, however, I am uncertain as to whether I will use this throughout further portrait sessions.

Re-united with my blog.

As a result of photographing everyday, and for just being busy in general, it is unfortunate to admit that I have neglected by blog work ever so slightly. However, this does not imply that I have not being doing any work with regards to my time unit. Now that I have more free time, stay tuned for a large quantity of exciting blog posts.