Exam Project - More Digital Experiments

This was random picture I took on my trip to the tate modern.
The person doesn't know it took this picture, I edited on picnik  using
the boost effect to enhance the colours.

Original photo

Boost effect.

crop tool to my size, 

boost effect used to enhance colours

After out trip the museum, me and a couple of other students decided to walk along the south bank and experience the atmosphere and take picture's along the way. Here's are some of my digital experimental outcome. I have also film photographs that have been processed.

Exam Project - Trip To Imperial War Museum - Don McCullin

This week we had a trip to the imperial war museum to visit an exhibition produced by Don McCullin. Don McCullin happens to relate to my first researched photography and the topic of war which I am interested in. Don McCullin career first started after a death of a police men in his local area of Finsbury Park, the third photo shown, called '' the guvnors '' was seen by someone from the times and he was then given a 2 day week of there. He used 3 nikon F cameras, 2 light meters and 30 rolls of black and white 35mm film. He was then sent to the civil war  in Cyprus in 1964 which he came back to win many awards including the World Press Award.  June 5th 1970 , McCullin was shot in the face and was saved by his camera and was also wounded in his leg, he recovered. Since then, he has gone back out to various wars to document the history and make people aware of what's happening. From 2000-2004, he also be involved with Christian Aid trying to educate people of Aids and to help those in need.

Some quotes from Don McCullin:
'' Occasionally, I use colour - I can use it quite well if it comes to it. But i thought that black and white images in war were much more powerful''

'' I suspect i was suffering a kind of mental breakdown in a way.... I was actually basically nothing less than a war junkie'' - 2009

'' I will never believe my photography hasn't still got something to teach me'' - 2009

In 2010, he published four new books for his photography, including one being called ''Shaped by war'' that is connected with this specific exhibition.

I enjoyed going to this exhibition as we got to look as someone work visually and also it's a different way of collecting research than just to find information off the internet. We could watch video's of him talking of his experiences, looking at his old camera's, passports etc. i found it interesting that we could look at all this first hand. It was also more appealing to me as i was interested in war photographers before. It has inspired me to carry on with my idea of emotive photograph's but also to relate it to the exam brief '' Encounters, Meeting and Experiences''.

Exam Project - Indepth Analysis - James Nachtwey

This image was photographed by a man named James Nachtwey and is an image of the twin towers collapsing in American on 9th September 2001. Nachtwey is an photojournalists and a war photographer. He work has been exhibited all over Europe and United States, he has also won many awards including The World Press Photo in 1994. He has won many awards like Dan Davis Award in 2002, one of three winners of TED awards of 2007. Also in 2008, Nachtwey exhibited a series of photo's in France, the exhibit entitles ''Struggle For Life'', documented the human toll of TB and AIDS. He has been a contract photographer for Time Magazine. Also, in 2001he became one of the founding members of the photo agency.He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and has an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Arts.


Nachtwey was present when the twin towers collapses and was able to witness and document this disaster that will be a moment in history. This links in with my exam project and it's a life experience. I also chose this photographer as he document real life matters, such as AIDS, war and famine. All emotive subject that will produce powerful images, but not only be images, but document of history. Evidence we can go back to that produce records of when ''encounters'' happen. I think that because obviously Nachtwey didn't know was going to happen this a complete spare of the moment and we couldn't comment of if the images composition was previously designed etc. Must that the image itself is very powerful and emotive. 


This type of work ties in with photojornalisim, war and this image represent this. This specific image is relevant to everybody and could be symbolic to reactions and results of war. This image title was the date ''9-11-01''. Most know the story behind the 9/11 that happened and Nachtwey just so happen to be there to document it. 


When looking through Nachtwey, this image drew my attention the most as it's a contra versional topic and is interesting and any new information is interesting to look at. Again, also very emotive and effected the majority of people. When looking at this piece what comes into my head in war, death, the amount people that lived, survived, change of life, the start of war, loss etc. I like this image because it's a reminder of what happened that day and to not let us forget the innocent people that have passed. But also really ties into the theme of life experience and has an emotive effect on the audience which is good as the photo's has an impact of the audience. Looking at this photographers, had inspired me to use this theme to dig deep and photograph some emotive subject that will not only make my audience think, but imapact them emotionally.

Exam Project - Rankin Examples

These images are my Rankin examples. We first taken basic photo's on PhotoBooth of emotions. We then printed then out and done some basic destroying, scrunching, up, scribbles, ripps etc. When we have finished we took a picture of our picture and some some more destroying on Photoshop. Here are some that have been destroyed by me and my 2 favourite ones I went onto to destroy on Photoshop. Doing this exercise will inspire me to do more spontaneous stuff to my images as I may like the final outcome.

Exam Project - In Depth Analysis - Rankin

This in-depth analysis is about a project Rankin has done called 'destroy' where he selects images he has taken and then 'destroys' into interesting experiments and end results. He's also worked with companies like Nike, Women's Aid, Breakthrough breast cancer, Rolling Stone and Wonderland.  In late 200, Rankin published the heteroclite quarterly rank, an experimental anti fashion magazine. Then in 2001, he launched another fashion magazine. He photographed from the Queen of England to the Queen of Pop. His first winning major campaign was Doves 'Real Women'. He has also published over 30 books and exhibits his work over New York and Los Angels. Also has a number of documentaries, one including ' Shooting with the Stars'. He lives in London with his wife and son. This specific project 'destroy' could link to fashion photography and how we are constantly bombarded with perfect images and with this project we are seen them cut up, moved in places, scribbled over etc. This project shows that a photograph can then be turned into a piece of art.

The second images was my chosen image to do an in-depth analysis on as I find is quite interesting. I like the composition of the photography and how it has been cut into thin stripes and then pieced back together along with another image of herself. It looks quite clever as this was a random design but also you can see it has been cleverly thought through and designed perfectly in order to make this effect. This image doesn't look like a lot of material were made and just got two images of the models and cut into thin strip and because back together in a certain way so we see a pattern of her face. Putting the models eye in the middle gives it a centre piece of the image and draws you in to the middle, then you see the sharpness of all the other colour like the dark hair and the light skin all centred by her light blue eyes.

I would associate this piece of art work with fashion photography and portraiture. I also think that Rankin was trying express that an image doesn't have to be perfect all the time in order to be attractive and used his examples to symbolise that. It could also be about having fun with an image and not knowing how it is going to turn out and then to appreciate the final outcome. It is symbolic to the opposites of perfect air brush images we see everyday in the magazines. As you look through the website you can see that many people are involved including celebrating coming together to destroy their images. The theme would be 'destroy'.

This image evoked my visual senses as the image is muddled and placed everywhere and is exciting for me to look at but the same time the eyes around the middle draw me in. When I first went to look for an image to give and example of Rankin's project these was one of the firs images I saw. I then went on to look further for some but couldn't coming back to this one. I think I like this one more as it has an edgy effect. What came to my head when I first saw the images was a collage of newspapers. Out of all the images I've seen this is my favourite one as it's original and I haven't seen anything like it before.

Exam Unit/ Life Cycle Project - Final Outcome.

This image is a photo i have taken in my local park in Battersea Park of a family playing by the river. I choose this as my final outcome as I think out of all my images it represents this project brief the best. This is also my favourite print that I have taken so far. It was developed on 5x7 first so i could get the timing and amount of the light right. I then had to develop it onto A4 paper which had the be exposed to the light for 18 seconds and aperture of grade 16 with the filter right up to 5.0,  after doing this i then exposed some light into certain areas that were originally too bright to get it at it's peak. This is called Dodging and burning. This image could also link to the exam theme of ''meeting,encounters and experiences'', another reason why i have chosen it for my final outcome. I like looking at the projects from the family perspective as every type of audience could relate and also images can be quite emotive. This image inspires me to do some more experiments todo with the family in the future and maybe an idea for the exam project.

Exam Project /Life cycle Project - In Depth Analysis - Helen Levitt

street drawing 1940 

CONTEXT:
- Levitt was an Amercian photographer based around New York. 

- In 1937, she was teaching children art and become interesting in the chalk drawing they were created and purchased a leica and began photographing them.
- The resulting photographs were ultimately published in 1987 as In The Street: chalk drawings and messages, New York City 1938–1948.^[4]

- around this time, children were playing on the street which is different today as you wouldn't find children playing roads at etc.

ASTHETICS:

Exam Project /Life Cycle Project - Darkroom Experiments.

Test Strip

Test Strip

Not enough contrast

Test Strip

Test Strip

Too dark in places

Too Dark/Light in Places

Too dark

Too dark 

Too light in places

Too dark in places 

Not enough contrast 

Too dark 

During the Life Cycle project these are the darkroom images I have produced over the course of time. Some of them have many scratches over them and at first I did not know why this happen, I later realised it was I using glass to eliminate shadows, but it was in fact creating scratches. The one of the model smoking it took me a while it took me a while to get it right as it was dark some places and light in others so I had to do some burning in places to eventually get it right. Overall I am generally happy with my prints.

Exam Project / Digital Experiments2- Edited Through Photoshop.